


Facing the Future

by Tyrphi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Friendship, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Team Bonding, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-03-07 21:04:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3183107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrphi/pseuds/Tyrphi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thirty-two-year-old Sakura Haruno travels back in time to change her future, but finds that things have changed more than she could have foreseen. Can she really make this new world better, or will her life crumble around her once again? -on indefinite hiatus right now-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awakening

Welcome everyone! Thank you for looking this up an I hope you enjoy the ride. If you’ve followed me from FF.net, it’s good to see you again and hopefully you like the changes I’m making.  
Happy reading!

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“..ura! Sakura! Are you up yet? If you don’t hurry you’ll be late!”

The voice tugged her to consciousness and her eyes twitched in minute resistance. It was far too early to be awake. Still, she knew she couldn’t fight the day forever. Rubbing her eyes she sat up, white sheets crumpling around her. Blinking her eyes wearily, she took in her surroundings with a sleepy glance. It looked the same as ever; her slightly worn dresser sat across from her bed, on it a mess of girlish objects ranging from lip gloss to panties she’d been too lazy to put away. Next to it was her desk, equally covered in frilly objects had only a few ninja tools that looked out of place adorning its surface. “Sakura! Get a move on!” Her mother’s voice echoed from downstairs.

Jumping up, Sakura did as she was told. She’d always’d followed her mothers strict orders without much thought, her voice demanding it be obeyed. Body still lethargic from sleep, Sakura automatically started to get dressed for the day. Off came the pale blue nightshirt and matching pants with only minor fumbling. Tossing the garments on the floor, she grabbed a pair of underwear from her dresser. Tugging those on, she stumbled towards her closet. And froze. Fully awake now, her surroundings had finally sunk in. 

Sakura did not have a worn down dresser, having bought a new one when she had gotten her own apartment. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d used lip gloss, the only ones she owned had been gifts from Ino. There were no frilly things adorning her desk, only scrolls and the occasional kunai. Glancing at her night stand, the lack of Team sevens picture screamed at her. As Sakura stared around at her room, still in shock, long pink hair drifted across her face. Wait…it was..long? 

A small bubbled of excitement rushed into her chest and Sakura quickly walked over to her mirror. Her hair was long, her room was unfamiliar, could it really be? Stopping in front of the reflective glass, Sakura felt a smile cross her face. It had worked..it had actually worked! She was back! Gazing into the glass, her reflection stared back at her. Just a small girl, really. Long locks of pink fell down past her shoulders, her arms and legs were smooth, with no scars marring the surface of her skin. Flexing her arm, she was happy to see barely any muscle. A small laugh trickled up and out of her mouth, wild green eyes dancing back at her. She was young! Her excitement grew until she couldn’t hold it in anymore, “S-Shannarooo!!”

“Don’t yell so loud! Do you want the neighbors to think we’re hitting you?” Clasping her hands over her mouth, Sakura stopped in her celebrating. She had been so wrapped up in the fact that it had worked that her mother’s voice hadn’t rung any bells before. Now though, it crashed over her. Her mother was alive. Was downstairs. And if she was then so was her father...and Ino..Hinata, Naruto, Tsunade..everyone..It had been years since she had seen some of her comrades. But there were here, alive in this new time. 

Blinking back the tears pooling in her eyes Sakura stepped away from her reflection. She had made it back, that was good. Better than good actually, it was more than she could have hoped for. But when? How far had she gone back? Looking back at the mirror, she took a look at herself, trying to see any clues that would give the date away. Judging from her hair length she could be anywhere from eight to twelve. Her underwear didn’t really tell her anything, as it was just plain white. Hmm, maybe her clothes could tell her something. Going towards her closet Sakura contemplated her possible age. Had she been this short when she was twelve? Or was she younger? Was she in her Genin team yet, or had she even taken the final test? Sliding back the door, her clothes answered it for her. Bright yellow shirts entered her vision. She had gone through a yellow phase when she was nine. Looking back, it had been a mistake. Yellow was not one of her better colors.

Not wanting to adorn the awful clothing a second time, Sakura stuffed the shirts to the side. Crammed at the bottom of her closet were clothes her father had bought her for her birthday, in the hopes that she would make a wonderfully serious kunoichi. How disappointed he had been when all she had done was fawn over Sasuke...and how happy that had made her mother, who never thought the ninja arts were meant for proper ladies. Memories shifted in the back of her mind at the thought of her would-be team mate, but she pushed them back, not ready to think of them at the moment.

Knowing that her mother would lose her temper soon, Sakura grabbed the wrinkled clothes and hurriedly put them on. The dark green shirt fit comfortably, its long sleeves loose enough to allow her movement. The Haruno crest lay on the back as it did on all of her outfits, proudly proclaiming her civilian heritage. As if anyone cared. Her tan leggings sat comfortably below the knees, reminiscent of the ones she had worn when she was twelve. Dark grey shoes fitted snuggly on her feet, having never been stretched out. Everything said, it was a very practical outfit. Her mother would hate it. Now dressed, Sakura quickly brushed her teeth and hair. Fidgeting with her shirt for a moment, Sakura took a deep breath and went down the stairs to face her parents.

 

***

 

As expected, her mother gasped upon seeing her daughter. “What do you think you’re wearing!? What happened to your adorable yellow shirt? And no make-up! How will little Sasuke-kun fall for you if you look like a man?” Forcing a smile, Sakura mumbled a response. While there was a twinge of happiness at seeing her mother alive, it was covered up by annoyance. She had forgotten how...forceful...her mother was about marrying well. And by well that meant marrying someone with money, making as many babies as possible, and generally being the perfect housewife. “Kizashi! Do you see our daughter?” As Mebuki walked off to complain to him, Sakura took the opportunity to sidle out the door. 

As much as she loved her mother, Sakura had been happy to move out. Life had been easier without the constant disapproval and talk of what a woman should be. Marry well, wear make-up, don’t put on too much muscle, stop speaking so crudely, and make sure to look nice for “little Sasuke-kun”. Her father she had missed even less. While he’d been approving of her life as a kunoichi, he’d never really looked beyond that to see her. She was just some trophy he could talk to his civilian friends about; his daughter, the first ninja in their family! While they’d never been horrible to her, her parents hadn’t ever seen her as an actual person, only an image of what they wanted her to be. 

Shaking her head, Sakura trotted down the streets, and tried to push thoughts of her parents out of her head. Instead, she turned her thoughts ahead towards the ninja school she hadn’t stepped in for years. Flexing her small muscles as she jogged, she was slightly surprised to find how weak she had been. Granted, she hadn’t begun training with Tsunade at this point, but she hadn’t thought she’d been this pathetic. Shaking her head and grimacing, she resolved to put in hours of training to rectify the frailty. With what she had to accomplish in this new time, Sakura had to bring her body up to speed.

Speaking of training… she slowed down to a walk and examined her chakra reserves. While never having been particularly large, what she had at the moment was miniscule. Similar to her strength, she’d have to get this back up to par as well. An idea occurred to her then, and Sakura focused on a stream of chakra in her spine. Grabbing a little bit off of it, she redirected part of the stream to her forehead. Buildings passed as she did this, but she was hardly aware of them, most of her focus inward. Sakura continued pushing her chakra until it finally connected to her forhead. Once established, Sakura solidified the connection and reinforced it so a small amount of chakra would continue to flow into her forehead without her assistance. She had begun the arduous process of creating the White Strength Seal. 

Having learned the technique from Tsunade, Sakura had formed it when she was just seventeen, much to the surprise of her peers. It had taken three years for her to store enough chakra for it, but had been worth it in the end. Starting the seal earlier could be helpful, the only problem she could see would be in explaining where she learned it in this timeline. But that could be dealt with later, now she had the task of facing all of her comrades. Alive again. She shuddered a little, the prospect not entirely pleasant.

Sakura slowed down; during her examination of her abilities, she had arrived at the academy. The worn down building looked much happier in this time than it did in the future, when the whole of Konoha had been beaten down by the Akastuki. In fact, everything looked so innocent now. So happy. So carefree. And here she was, from a bleak future, hopefully able to save the people she loved. The thirty-two-year-old woman, turned nine-year-old girl walked through the doorway, head held high. She could do this. For some reason though, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.


	2. Memory

Thank you for the lovely comments and kudos and I hope you enjoy the story.  
Happy Reading!

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Sitting at her desk, Sakura kept her eyes downwards. The smooth wooden surface was marred by years worth of bored academy students idle scratches. Some formed crude words, others an attempt at a star or heart. Running her fingers lightly over a half legible name, she forced herself from looking around the room. 

Coming in to the classroom, Sakura knew seeing some of the faces would hurt. What she had not expected was the immensity of her sadness. Compared to the small pang she’d felt upon seeing her mother, this was horrible. She had only caught a glimpse of her former comrades and tears immediately sprung to her eyes. Knowing her reaction would raise questions, Sakura quickly found a seat and sat down. 

It had been hard, oh so hard, to live on without her friends. Seeing them now, she should have been overcome with happiness. But along with the knowledge that they were alive and well came the depressing fact that they weren’t hers anymore. She hadn’t shared her life with these younger versions. The only Sakura Haruno they knew was a shallow, stupid, little girl. 

“Alright, alright. Settle down.” Wrenching her from her thoughts, Iruka’s voice called out to the class, “Come on now, we have to get going.” The chunin looked the same as ever. Brown hair pulled into a high tail, slightly puffy scar crossing his nose. “Now, we’re going to begin with some basic chakra theory. To start off, can anyone tell me how chakra is used to formulate clones?” Seeing Iruka’s eyes shift in her direction, Sakura realized with a jolt that she had usually been the one to answer these questions. 

Not looking at anyone else in the classroom, Sakura diligently raised her hand. At Iruka’s nod, she replied, “The user moves their chakra throughout their body, getting a reading of the different organs and structures. A small amount of chakra is then pushed out of the body, with the help of hand seals, and into the physical world. Once there, the chakra automatically takes on the form of the user based on the data it has received, thus creating a clone.” 

“Very good Sakura-chan. Now, can anyone else tell me the problems that can arise when doing this technique?” Looking back down at her desk and avoiding others’ gazes, Sakura tensed up. A memory flickered in the back of her mind. Furling her brow, she concentrated on the thought. Suddenly it overwhelmed her, pushing away the class she was currently sitting in...

 

_...She was running. Running because she knew there was little time in which to act. Rushing through the forest, she ignored the branches whipping at her exposed skin. Everything depended on this, if she missed her chance it was all over. Feeling a surge of chakra signatures ahead, Sakura landed on a branch lightly. Stilling her own chakra, she took a moment to assess what was happening. If she remembered Kakashi’s instructions correctly, when there were four chakra signatures, as there were now, Obito would be trapped under the rock that had killed him. He must be the weakening signature Sakura felt. Now was the time to act then. Stealthily, she approached the battlefield, keeping her senses attuned to the chakras’ ahead of her. Pausing on the edge of a rocky outcropping, Sakura took in the scene in front of her._

_As she had predicted, Obito was currently underneath a gigantic boulder. She recognized him from a picture Kakashi had shown her. And if that was the Uchiha, then the girl next to him must be Rin. Kakashi himself was easy to spot, his bushy white hair the same as when he was older. In front of Kakashi stood a ninja from another village, laughing at the weak defense Kakashi provided. The enemy ninja took a step towards Sakura’s former teacher and she realized that she needed to move now. Sakura jumped from her hiding place with a burst of chakra and landed between Kakashi and his adversary._

_Ignoring the exclamations of surprise her appearance had garnered, Sakura threw a kunai at the ninja, which she could now identify as belonging to Iwagakure. Despite his obvious shock at her sudden appearance, the Stone ninja managed to block her knife. And charge at her with an attack of his own. After pushing Kakashi further behind her so that he wouldn’t get caught up in the fight, Sakura filled her fists with chakra. Watching the Stone ninja come closer, Sakura could easily spot openings she could strike. Not waiting any longer, she lunged forward, ducked under his flashing kunai, and struck the ninja straight in the chest. Really, it was almost too easy._

_The ninja’s body contorted around her strengthened fist and flew away from her with a gust of air. He landed a few yards away and didn’t get up. Sakura flashed a smile at his quick death, it would have been troublesome if he’d gotten up for more, but pushed her pleasure aside to assess the scene behind her._

_Turning around she was greeted with three, terrified, young faces staring back at her. The only one that concerned her at the moment was the boy trapped beneath the rock. Absentmindedly ruffling Kakashi’s hair as she quickly walked past him, Sakura crouched down next to Obito, pushing the boulder off of him as she did so. The entire right side of his body was crushed, blood pouring out of many orifices. His eye stared dully at her, not entirely comprehending what was happening. As gently as she could, Sakura picked him up in one arm, sending waves of medical chakra to stop his bleeding. He moaned slightly in response. Rin, who was kneeling next to the spot Obito had just vacated, her own medical chakra still glowing around her hands, seemed to remember herself and demanded, “W-who are you!? What are y-you doing w-with Obito??”_

_Barely sparing the girl a glance, Sakura grabbed Rin in her other arm and looked to Kakashi, “We need to go now.” His mouth moved beneath his mask but no sound escaped it. “No, don’t question me. If we don’t act your friend will die.” Kakashi’s eyes traveled to her headband and Sakura was glad she’d kept it on, as it marked her a ninja of Konoha. Hopefully someone Kakashi would trust. Luckily, Kakashi knew the danger of the situation he was in and nodded his assent._

_Sakura began walking away from the collapsing rocks and Kakashi followed her without hesitation. As a large tremor ripped through the ground, Sakura realized that the stone was much more unstable than she thought it was, and yelled back at Kakashi, “Hurry, we need to get out now!” A rock fell from the ceiling behind them, as if to emphasize her point. Both ninja sprinted away from the scene as more rocks fell around them.  
Once they escaped, Sakura looked down at Kakashi to analyze him. While he was certainly breathing heavily, the younger version of her teacher only had a few cuts on him. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, glad he was largely unhurt. Turning back to the task at hand, Sakura spoke, “We should run through the trees, there’s bound to be more Iwagakure ninja around and traveling will be faster that way.” _

_At his nod, Sakura turned around and jumped up on the closest branch. Once Kakahsi was beside her, Sakura began to dash through the trees, slowing down her pace to keep in time with the younger Kakashi. Sakura glanced at him again, still concerned for his wellbeing. With her second glance, Sakura could tell Kakashi was thoroughly worn out; blood spattered across his clothing, and his breathing sounded quite labored. He would hinder her when it came down to a fight._

_As they continued away from the scene, Sakura felt three chakra signatures blaze to life behind her. They must have been concealing themselves until now, but upon discovering their dead companion, were out for blood. Sakura cursed under her breath. Landing hard on a branch, she turned and put the exhausted Rin and unconscious Obito gently on the bark. Kakashi came to a stop beside her, confusion in his eyes. Pulling out an explosive kunai, Sakura filled him in, “Three Stone ninja are following us and they’re getting close.” Kakashi’s eyes widened in surprise. Sakura continued, “I need you to guard Rin and Obito, okay?” Kakashi nodded, and took a defensive position by his two team members._

_To Sakura’s surprise, Rin stood up next to her teammate, shaking a little. The girl looked like she was ready to fall over any minute now and Sakura thought about forcing her to stay down. One look at her determined expression changed Sakura’s mind and she let the girl stand. While medical ninjutsu certainly took a lot out of a person, Rin seemed to be made of strong mettle, she could help protect Obito. Sakura couldn’t help but smile a little at that. Sakura then turned to face the incoming ninja, her chakra once again pooling in her fist. Despite their higher numbers, she was fairly certain she could take them._

_As the first ninja came into view Sakura leaped. Before the enemy kunoichi could land on her branch, Sakura’s fist hit it. Sharp bits of bark danced across Sakura’s vision, some cutting into her face. Ignoring the slight sting the injuries brought, she focused on the woman. The Stone Kunoichi had fallen below her, but she seemed to have composed herself as she landed on a branch below Sakura’s destroyed one. Not wasting any time, the woman flashed a few hand seals and Sakura felt two diminished chakra signatures pop into existence above her. Judging by their energy, Sakura figured they were rock clones._

_Sakura ignored the two clones as she fell towards the kunoichi below her. Landing right next to her opponent, Sakura swung at her with one of the explosive kunai in her left hand. As she did so, she felt two objects hit her back, sinking through her jacket into skin. So the clones had thrown kunai. ignoring the wounds, Sakura continued to attack the woman in front of her. All of her hits were blocked, but that didn’t overly matter to Sakura as she slowly counted down from ten._

_When she got to six, Sakura heard two heavy thumps behind her and felt the clones’ chakra. As they prepared to strike her, she smiled. Two…One. The tag adorning her kunai exploded. Three large pops and one scream filled the air. The tree the four ninja’s had been on burst into flame._

_Sakura laughed a little, sitting in the tree above Kakashi and his teammates. Her shadow clone had been excellent. Really, it was the Stone Kunoichi’s fault for not noticing the switch when Sakura had punched the tree branch. Oh well, her enemies inattentiveness just made her job easier. Speaking of which… Sakura raised her eyes to the two remaining and concealed Stone ninja. Well, not concealed enough if she could spot them with such ease. Still, Sakura was pleased to note the looks of shock on both men’s faces. The Stone kunoichi must have been the strongest of the three if they’d let her tackle Sakura on her own. Just another one of their mistakes._

_Bringing up more chakra, Sakura created two more shadow clones that appeared by her side. Time to get rid of the rest. With a chakra enforced jump, Sakura and her clones were above the two enemy ninja in a second, chakra going into all three’s fists. Before the three Sakura’s could land a strike, however, the world spun. Tree’s swirled into one large mess and the ground changed places with the sky. Confused, Sakura lashed out with her hands hoping to strike something to end the swirling. As the spinning only grew faster, darkness laced around the edges of her vision. Suddenly, the world was black._

_Kakashi watched with shock as his pink haired savior disappeared in mid-air, clones poofing out of existence. As the three ninja vanished, he was further surprised to see the familiar head of his sensei take their place with a flash. His familiar grin spread across his face as Minato apologized, “Sorry I’m late, took a while to get here…."_

 

...The nine-year-old Sakura jerked, swirling trees disappearing from her vision as her mind was brought back to the present. Glancing at the clock, it seemed mere minutes had passed by in the academy classroom, no one noticing that she’d spaced out. What had she just seen, memories? Yes..those memories, they were...they were right after she’d gotten back into the past, still in her old body. That’s right! She, Naruto and Kakashi had devised a plan, a way to make sure that everyone survived this time around! Saving Obito had been the first part of it, but what happened after? And why was she now in her younger body? Their plan had only counted on her staying in her older body, not popping back into this nine-year-old one. Still questioning what was going on, Sakura forced her eyes back onto Iruka, knowing she didn’t have the answers to her questions. She decided she would explore Konoha later, for surely those events had to have changed something.


	3. Changes

Just a heads up, as this will prolly come up at some point, I’m not putting in any pairings quite yet into the story. Right now I’m just gonna focus on friendships. But if pairings do happen, they’ll be later on. Hopefully that floats your boat for now and Happy Reading!

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Sakura stared, openmouthed, at the scene before her. This was simply not possible. There was absolutely _no way _saving one little Uchiha brat could have done this. Slowly closing her mouth, Sakura was forced to realize that what she was seeing was indeed real.__

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Sakura sighed, the images of a crushed Obito and scared Kakashi still chief in her thoughts. Listening to Iruka hadn’t helped at all, as she’d already known the topics he was lecturing about. Listening to the idle chatter of her classmates hadn’t revealed anything new either, as they still acted as their counterparts in her time would have. While Sakura had avoided looking at them directly, only mumbling in response to the questions they asked her, she hadn’t been able to drown out her classmate voices. Each one she recognized made the ache in her chest grow a little wider. 

During the day she’d certainly gotten some weird looks for her quiet behavior. Luckily, no one had asked her about it. After all, girls did have a tendency to act oddly at times. It helped that young Sakura didn’t have many close friends at this age, owing to her fight with Ino the previous year. So no one was there to bother her. Vaguely Sakura remembered this having saddened her when she was nine the first time around, thinking people hated her. Pushing that depressing thought aside, Sakura exited the Academy, class over for the day. Curiosity bubbled up at the question of what had changed in this time.

Walking down the main street of Konoha, Sakura could easily pick out the larger differences. The village was obviously bigger, having never been ripped down by the Akatsuki. Shops that had been closed for years were open, less weapon and armor shops peppered the street, and the general atmosphere seemed lighter to Sakura. With a smile, she recognized the ramen shop that had become Naruto’s second home. As she stared past the entryway curtains, Sakura giggled a little when she saw a familiar orange jacket. He must have rushed there right after the academy had gotten out. Passing by the ramen shop, it took Sakura a moment to realize that there was also a notable lack of orphans running around the streets, a problem that had been abundant in her time. 

Shaking her head, Sakura knew she should have realized this already. Of course everything would be brighter here, happier even. The Akatsuki hadn’t demolished the village yet and the Third Hokage still reigned peacefully. Sakura didn’t even have to look up at the stone monument that presided over the village to verify this. 

Of course, none of this had really shocked Sakura. She’d hoped it would be a better place. Expected it, in fact. Why else would Naruto and Kakashi have sent her back? The thing that had her stopped in her tracks, questioning her sanity, was a certain district. A district that, for all intents and purposes, should not be here. 

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Mouth gaping open dumbly, Sakura could only watch as families milled about, going on with their daily lives. Children ran down the streets, chasing a red ball without a care in the world. Teenagers walked around in groups, giggling at every little thing. Shinobi stood on guard, on the lookout for any trouble yet not expecting any, safe in their home village. All wearing the proud red and white symbol of the Uchiha on their backs. 

“The Massacre....never.....happened...” Sakura muttered under her breath, hardly able to believe it. This couldn’t all be possible simply because she saved Obito. That was too huge a change from something so small. Had she....had she done something else? Sakura’s brow furrowed and she took a step back from the scene in front of her. Were there more memories that she was missing? If so, why was she back in her younger body? What else could there be to- “Are you alright, Miss?”

Sakura stopped dead, senses flaring to life at that voice. Instinct kicked in and she twisted around, lowered her eyes, and whipped out a kunai she’d hidden up her sleeve. Her eyes widened as she saw how close her enemy was to her, _his hand was almost touching her _. Sakura leapt back into a battle ready crouch, her eyes trained on his chest. If she watched his torso, she could predict when he would strike and block his attack. Fully intent on his next movement, Sakura was confused when he didn’t budge. Was he waiting for her to make the first strike? If so, he would have to learn to be patient. There was no chance in hell she was going to strike first against an S-class criminal, despite his loyalty to Konoha. Loyalty didn’t diminish his threat.__

As seconds ticked by, Sakura became aware of the stares her actions were getting her. Idiots, didn’t they realize that a member of the Akatsuki was in their midst? Even if he was supposedly dead, they couldn’t let down their guard so- wait. Dead? Once again, Sakura froze. A slow blush crawled up onto her cheeks and ears. Shit. In front of her, Itachi Uchiha stared at her with wide eyes filled with confusion. Itachi Uchiha, who was not, in fact, a member of the Akatsuki. Which would not make him a missing ninja. And if he wasn’t a missing nin.....Sakura had just freaked out for no apparent reason. 

Now blushing even harder and cursing her stupidness, Sakura stood up and slid her kunai back up her sleeve. In an attempt to hide her growing embarrassment, she straightened out the non-existent folds in her green shirt, eyes not daring to meet Itachi’s. Gathering her courage, Sakura slowly walked over to the former Akatsuki member, steadfastly ignoring the stares pointed her way.

Itachi, to his credit, wiped off the surprised expression on his face. Now in front of him, Sakura was forced to raise her gaze to his, meeting black. Not red. Some sort of knot loosened in her chest and Sakura realized she had been expecting to meet a pair of Sharingan. Fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt, Sakura mumbled out an apology, “I’m sorry for… reacting … like that. I was just, er, surprised,” It was a horrible excuse and she knew it. But not knowing what else to say, Sakura could only wait for his response.

After taking a moment to assess her words, Itachi replied, “It’s quite alright. I was the one who interrupted your thoughts. It was only natural you’d react accordingly,” Sakura grimaced, she hadn’t ‘reacted accordingly’ at all. But if he was fine with letting the awkwardness pass so was she. “As to my first question, are you all right?” At her confused look Itachi elaborated, “You’ve been standing in front of the compound for ten minutes.”

That long? Sakura kicked herself in the head for acting so, well, stupid. Still, seeing a group of people you thought were dead all your life would be a little bit of a shock to anybody. Pleased with her reasoning, Sakura shook her hands in front of her face, “No, no, I just…was lost in thought is all.” From how high his eyebrows raised, Sakura knew Itachi didn’t believe her. Sakura blinked. Wait. “How did you know I was standing there for so long?” Sakura put a little note of accusation in her voice, honestly curious about the answer. 

Itachi gestured behind him, “I was eating dango when I happened to notice you. Pink hair tends to stand out in the Uchiha district.” A tiny smile flickered across his lips before disappearing. Sakura had the faint idea that he was mocking her. “I was going to leave you alone but you were standing there for a long time.”

“Oh.” Was her intelligent response. Shaking her head a little, Sakura continued, “Thank you, I think. I’m not sure how much longer I would have been standing there if you hadn’t … pulled me out of my thoughts.” 

“Then you’re welcome, Miss..?” he trailed off.

“Ah, Sakura. Haruno Sakura.” She couldn’t help but feel weird, talking so casually to this man who’d been such a large threat in her past life. 

Itachi smiled, though it felt more polite than the amused smirk he’d given earlier, “Haruno-chan, then.” Sakura’s jaw almost fell open. Had he just called her “-chan”? If Sasuke could see her now he’d be having an aneurysm. At that thought the ache in her chest swelled up again, demanding attention. Sakura inwardly winced, she’d always done her best not to think of her former teammate. Itachi continued to speak, interrupting her painful thoughts, “My name is Itachi and, despite our initial meeting,” Once again that amused smile flitted across his face, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I have to say it’s nice to meet you too” Oddly enough, it was. “And, I apologize again for before.” A sheepish grin spread across her face. “Next time I’ll try to start off with a ‘hello’ instead of a kunai.” Itachi gave a small laugh at that. “Ah, I should probably be going now, my parents will be looking for me,” A lie, her parents wouldn’t think about her until dinner, and maybe not even then. But she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay in Itachi’s company without doing something else suspicious. 

“I wouldn’t want to keep you away from them. I’ll see you around, Haruno-chan.” Itachi gave her a wave and wandered back to his dango stand. Watching him walk away, Sakura was again struck with the thought of how absolutely weird it was to have a conversation with Itachi Uchiha. Shaking her head, she realized she’d probably have to get used to it, especially since he was Sasuke’s-Sakura cut off that thought. 

Spinning around, Sakura began to meander away from the Uchiha compound. Despite it’s oddness, the encounter gave her something important to ponder. If Itachi was here and not in the Akastuki, were the other members still the same? Pein, Nagato and Konan she knew to be the three original members; but who else was aligned with them? Knowing that this would take some investigation that couldn’t be done in her current position, Sakura changed her direction towards the training fields.

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Sakura arrived at area four, one of the few grounds allowed to academy students. A large body of water took up most of the field, a lone island sitting in it’s middle. Taking a position at the edge of the water, Sakura began stretching her muscles. While the new life of the Uchiha’s gave her much to think about, she couldn’t focus on any single thing. Her mind continually jumped from one topic to the next. 

What had happened to stop the massacre? Was it really only her saving Obito? And what were the political ramifications of the Massacre not happening, was the council still in power? Did Obito survive even? Had her actions affected Kakashi’s life in any way, or was he still broken? What was Itachi like? From what she had read in his file and from Sasuke’s recount… Sakura stopped stretching for a moment, but pushed the hurt away to deal with at another time… From Sasuke’s recount of his childhood, Itachi had been a major pacifist-a morality at odds with his profession. 

Getting a headache from her inner ramblings, Sakura finished her stretching and set off at a fast jog around the lake. For now, she would focus on bringing her strength up, along with her chakra control and ninjustu. Despite her natural affinity for genjustu, Sakura had never delved deeply into that ninja art, so had nothing to improve upon in that area. 

Panting, she finished her first lap. This was pathetic, even the worst academy student had to have more stamina than this. Granted, she was only nine. But in the ninja world, age was no excuse for poor skills. Scoffing at her younger self, Sakura started her second lap, determined to get at least seven (her favorite number) in. 

After an excruciating amount of time, so much so that the sun was dipping towards the horizon, Sakura accomplished her goal. She slowed down to a walk, letting herself cool off. Feeling that her body was close to exhaustion, Sakura had to admit that this was all she could do for the day. She couldn’t even work on her chakra reserves. Physical exhaustion had made her mental control shakey, and she couldn't even focus enough to do a simple seal. Surrendering to defeat, Sakura began the long walk home. 

With all of the wild things going on, facing her parents didn’t seem as hard as before.


	4. Closure

Just wanna let you know I love Ino, she’s so adorable and strong and perfect… But at twelve, the entire Naruto cast had their annoying moments.  
Happy Reading!

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“Whoever thought waking up before the sun rises was a good idea should rethink their priorities,” Once again mumbling to herself, Sakura finished stretching out her leg muscles. Wincing at the ache her actions causes, she couldn’t help but curse her younger self. Why hadn’t she put in even the tiniest amount of effort into her training? All it was doing was causing her headaches now. 

Already sore from yesterday, Sakura had thought it would be a smart idea to get a couple of laps around the neighborhood before heading off to the academy. Obviously, this had been a mistake, if her screaming muscles were any sort of indication. 

And while Sakura had never been a morning person, her older body was better at handling getting up. Her nine year old body? Not so much. Slowly, Sakura stood and urged her tired legs forward; ignoring the ache she felt with each step. 

Sakura knew she’d have to talk to people today, lest she arouse suspicion. One day of anti-socialness was allowed in the preteen world, two was absolutely unforgivable. But...facing her former comrades would be difficult. Some more so than others. 

Naruto, with his goofy grin, would be the easiest to see again. He had been alive the last time she’d seen him. Kakashi as well, although she wouldn’t see him for a while if this timeline played out the same as her old one. At least regarding teams. Sasuke, well, he would be harder. The last time Sakura had seen him was… Her heart gave a loud thump and Sakura had to stop walking as memories flooded her mind. She could picture the scene clearly, even now, years after it had happened… 

_Sasuke lay on the frozen ground, snow falling silently around him. His eyes stared up into hers, life fading from them slowly. Sakura felt the beginning of tears well up in her own eyes as she gazed down at her former team mate. Sasuke’s lips curled into a small smile and he opened them to speak, “I…”. His voice was little more than a whisper and Sakura had to crouch down lower to hear him. His breath hit her ear as he struggled to speak, “I’ll…see you..”. Tears fell on his cheeks when Sakura could no longer hold them back. Sasuke continued to smile, eyes growing dim, “..see you… soon.” As his voice finally died off, Sakura shuddered as the sob she had been repressing broke through her lips. Her head fell on Sasuke’s chest, sobs turning into low screams as the reality of what had happened sunk in. Below her, sunk into Sasuke’s stomach, was his own katana. Sakura's hands still gripping the hilt…_

Breath hitching, Sakura clutched at her chest. It had been a long time ago, but the pain would never fade. Nor would the awful, _fucking_ memories. Sakura ground her teeth together as she once again felt the blade sink into Sasuke’s stomach. The small gasp of air he’d sucked in fluttered by her ears. And the horrible, _horrible_ happiness that had appeared in his eyes as he realized his death was upon him. Because in those final moments, he had been free.

Shuddering, Sakura shook her head violently. It had to be done. Years after his disappearance from the village, Sasuke had come back, asking to be forgiven. And while many were suspicious, they’d taken him in for questioning anyways. A missing nin wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Killing him outright would have meant letting go of any information he held. Just accepting him back without question would have been plain stupid. So, they imprisoned him.

But when Sakura first saw him, after all of those years, she knew. Despite how hard she’d wished she could deny it, _she knew_. What came back wasn’t her Sasuke. Wasn’t Sasuke at all. He’d been erased, stolen by the Sannin who controlled him. The man who’d promised him power only to grab it for himself. Orochimaru. 

So Sakura had lied. Pretending to break him out of prison for a love she couldn’t let go of, Sakura drew the fake Sasuke away from the village. Not too far, no, Orochimaru had come back for a reason and wouldn’t be dissuaded so easily. But he’d followed her, acting the role of Sasuke. For what exact reason, she couldn’t guess. But it hadn’t mattered, not really. He’d followed her and that’s all that she needed. 

All she’d needed to kill him. 

Sakura could only feel pure loathing towards the man who’d ruined it all. The immortal snake. When she got her hands on him in this world there was no force on earth that would stop her from ripping him apart. 

“Miss, are you okay?”

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Sakura whipped around. Her breathing still hadn’t steadied and she could tell without looking that her face was pale and sweaty. So once again she found herself face to face with Itachi Uchiha, acting in no way normal. “A-ah. Uchiha-san. I, yes. Yes, I’m fine,” 

Itachi’s eyebrows raised in a way that indicated he didn’t believe her. But, yet again, he ignored her odd behavior, “Good. I would rather not scare you every time we met. Think of what people would say?” In answer to this, Sakura could only gape. Had that been a joke? From Itachi? Before she could respond, an annoyed voice behind the elder Uchiha piped up.

“Aniki, I thought we were going to train together before class started?” Sasuke’s head peered around his brother, staring at the suddenly paler girl. Flashes of cold snow and colder flesh rushed across Sakura’s mind. She could feel herself shaking again. Sasuke frowned at her, confused. 

Itachi’s voice broke in, “Hmm, yes we were.” He took a step toward Sakura and lifted her palm to her forehead. “But it seems Haruno-chan isn’t feeling too well, her temperature seems colder than normal too. We should escort her back to her home, at the very least.” 

“N-no. I’m fine, really. I was…I’ve just finished exercising and I’m really out of shape so…” Her excuses were still quite pathetic. “Really. I’ll be fine.” Itachi frowned and clearly still did not believe her at all. “Besides, I need to get the academy early today so that..I can get some more practice in.”

Hand falling off her forehead, Itachi nodded, “Alright, just don’t push yourself too hard.” He turned around and grabbed his brother’s hand, “I’ll see you around, Haruno-chan,” And with a following grunt from Sasuke, the two brothers took their leave. Staring at their backs in silence, Sakura knew that she, too, should get going. Rubbing her hands over her arms to get some color back into them, Sakura started to walk towards the academy.

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After walking for a little while, Sakura felt herself calm down. She was able to push the memories, and subsequent emotions, down to ignore until they decided to surface again. As she merged onto a busier road, an idea popped up in her head. Heading straight for a little shop, Sakura gathered a small amount of chakra into her legs before leaping upwards. 

Sakura landed on a roof, tiles creaking beneath her feet. Building jumping had always been a favorite activity of hers, and had the added benefit of being mindless. Sakura needed to do a little less thinking at the moment. So, channeling more chakra to her legs, Sakura took off. 

The wind rushed through her hair as Sakura leapt from building to building, colors flashing beneath her. A smile that should couldn’t stop bloomed on her face as her thoughts fell behind her. Landing hard on a building’s patio, Sakura laughed as she passed a married couple enjoying morning tea and gave them a quick wave. With bemused expressions, the two women waved back and went back to their chatting. With another tiny burst of chakra, Sakura was in the air. 

After quite some time, she had been unwilling to stop, Sakura landed with a loud thump before the academy doors. Patting her hair down, Sakura frowned. She’d have to work on her landings a bit. Any half-decent ninja within a mile would have heard that. “Sakura-chan! That was awesome! You looked so cool jumping like that!” 

To her surprise, nothing but warmth filled her as Sakura turned around to face the exuberant voice. Glad for the lack of sadness she expected upon seeing her comrade, Sakura grinned in reply, “Naruto! It’s good to see you!” She stepped forwards to ruffle his hair, a habit she’d gotten into when he’d cut it short. Her hand was extended halfway before Sakura remembered that this wasn’t _her_ Naruto anymore. Letting her hand fall back to her side awkwardly, Sakura continued to smile at the boy. 

He looked much the same. Goofy grin, whisker marks and orange pants. The only notable change was his lack of orange jacket; a black tee shirt was in its place. Not that she was complaining, the thing had been an eyesore. And really, what kind of ninja wore orange?

Caught up in her thoughts, it took Sakura a minute to realize the silence the two had fallen into. Glancing at Naruto’s face, she saw he wore a stunned expression, mouth drooping open comically. What was his problem? Oh, wait. She had probably been mean to him before now, always chasing after Sasuke….sometimes she really did hate her younger self. 

Determined to brush off his surprise, Sakura grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the building, “Come on Naruto, I’m not gonna be late because of a knuckle-headed ninja like you.” The bemused boy, for his part, took her change in attitude without question; at least, he didn’t verbalize any. 

Marching down the hall, the pair passed a few older jonin milling about. With a pang, Sakura recognized Asuma and Kurenai, who were talking jovially. Grimacing in remembrance of Asuma’s funeral, Sakura continued to drag a now complaining Naruto along. His voice got louder the closer they were to the classroom, “Sakura-chaaaan, you’re gripping my arm reeeaaaly tight. I mean, I like holding hands and all but it huuurts....”Loosening her grip the girl couldn’t help but giggle at his words. They were so Naruto-like. 

Before entering the classroom, Sakura let go of his arm all together. Wouldn’t want him to get the wrong idea. While the older Naruto was perfectly happy with being her friend, the younger one still claimed notions of love for her. Which was silly really, since all she had ever done was fawn over Sasuke. Heh, guess they were both fools. 

Looking back at him, Sakura proposed, “Hey, let’s sit together, okay?” At an answering nod from him accompanied by a huge grin and blush, she set off to find a seat. Having been later than she usually was, she’d taken some scenic detours on her roof jumping excursion, many of the chairs were taken. In fact, the only two side-by-side seats available were ones right next to their third team member. Well, future team member. If things still stayed the same in that regard. 

Sad emotions now pushed down far enough that she could act and think naturally, Sakura plopped down next to Sasuke and ignored the glares from other females around the room. Without glancing at the dark haired boy next to her, she greeted him, “Good morning, Sasuke” She got nothing in reply. Sakura had forgotten that Sasuke could be a real ass when he was younger. She turned to him and spoke louder, “Good Morning.” He grunted in reply, not even looking at her. Yup, an ass. 

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL SASUKE-KUN!??”

Sakura jumped in surprise. Had she said that last part aloud? Judging from the scowl on Ino’s face and Naruto’s laughter from her right, she guessed she had. Glaring up at her rival, Sakura retorted, “You got a problem with that?” Really, he was being a jerk. He didn’t even say goodbye properly this morning! Just another stupid grunt!

“YES I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT FOREHEAD! THIS IS SASUKE-KUN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!! HOW DARE YOU CALL HIM AN A-” Not able to finish the word, Ino growled in frustration. 

“I’m sorry, was the word you were looking for lost in that empty mind of yours? Or did your thought die of loneliness mid-sentence?” 

_Snort._

Huh? Whipping her head around, Sakura was shocked to see the culprit of the smothered laugh. Sasuke was currently covering his mouth, an amused look on his face that he was clearly trying to hide. And failing. Seeing the girls’ eyes on him, the Uchiha was quick to put his usual scowl back into place. 

While Ino looked devastated that her crush had snorted at her, however briefly, Sakura was amazed. Sasuke had laughed. _He had laughed_. That’s when it clicked into place. While this was no longer the Sasuke she knew, that was okay. Because her Sasuke had been an unemotional twat, no matter how much she loved him. This Sasuke still had his clan, his family, his happiness. 

He wouldn’t have his brother to chase down and kill. He wouldn’t have to follow Orochimaru for power to complete his revenge-twisted goal. He wouldn’t be subsequently taken over by the snake bastard. He wouldn’t have to die. And Sakura wouldn’t have to hurt him again.

It finally dawned her that she could make this world better. Hell, she _had_ made it better already. Sasuke had his family. Naruto didn’t look so lonely. A somber expression crossed her face. Sakura promised herself that she would protect her loved ones new lives, not matter the cost. As she did so, the memory of Sasuke’s death dissipated completely into the back of her mind, having finally gotten the closure it needed.


	5. Parasite

Eyes snapping open, the man bolted upright; quite the unusual action for him. Always careful and graceful with his movements, it was a rather large change to see him leap out of bed and dash across the room. This difference would have been humorous, had it not been for the circumstances. 

Panting slightly from the thoughts whirling inside of his head, the somewhat disheveled man ripped open the door leading to his bathing area. He stopped in front of the cracked sink, staring into the dirty mirror above it. 

Long black hair greeted his vision, accompanied by familiar pale features. Reaching out slowly, the stunned man lightly touched his reflection. Was this real? Was that really him, alive and well? If it was then how-

A small knock echoed from the other room. “Sir? I have the patient you requested. May I enter?” Brought back from his musings, the older man grinned, showing off slightly pointed teeth. It was not a happy sight, this smile. 

A hissing escaped the man's lips, “Yes, do come in.” The door opened behind him, though he continued gazing at his reflection. At a confused shuffle from the other room, he added, “In here. Come now, don’t be shy.”

Without hesitation or any conceived shyness, a bespectacled man entered the restroom dragging a half-dead person behind him. “My lord”, the short greeting, conveying a question, came from the other man. 

“Ah, yes. Thank you for fetching our guest Kabuto, so very kind of you.” Turning around to face his victim, Orochimaru’s smirk widened. His hand absently touched his stomach where, what felt like minutes before, Sasuke’s sword had resided. A low chuckle escaped his lips. He truly was master of death. 

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Sakura twisted her torso, barely missing the kunai. Whipping her head in the direction it had come from, she was greeted by the sight of a blond pony tail slipping out of sight. Damn that Ino-pig, attacking her while she was distracted. At a sound behind her, the annoyed girl turned to face her first opponent. 

Being the gentleman that he was, Sasuke had waited for her to dodge the ambush by closing the distance between them. With no time to react, Sakura took the punch in her jaw. Using the momentum the blow gave her, she jumped backwards out of Sasuke’s reach. Landing, she rubbed her jaw. Sasuke hadn’t held his punch back. Naruto was right, he really could be a bastard. 

Seeing the disgruntled look he gave the wooden kunai thrown by Ino, Sakura amended her thought. Okay not a bastard. Just a tactical jerk. But a distracted one. While his eyes were still on the Kunai, Sakura took her chance and leapt at Sasuke. Unfortunately for her, his reflexes were top notch and he managed to block the kick she had aimed at his chest and counterattacked with his own punch. As she had been prepared for a counterstrike, Sakura was able to move her head aside in time to miss it.

Miffed that her sneak attack hadn’t worked, Sakura suddenly dropped low to the ground and thrust her leg at Sasuke’s, attempting to trip him. Happily for her, this time her hit landed, and Sasuke fell down with a grunt. On her legs. Not wanting to fight him so close up, Sakura pushed on his stomach with her legs, thrusting him away from her. Quickly, she stood up and pulled out a kunai. Sasuke did the same, panting a little. Prepping herself for another strike, Sakura was disappointed when the sound of a bell cut through the clearing. 

“It’s over already?” Green eyes blinking, Sakura faced the voice of the complaint. Sasuke seemed equally surprised at his words, as he quickly resumed his usual scowl. “Not that I care, you were weak anyways.” 

Grinding her teeth Sakura snapped back at him, “If I’m so weak why do you look tired?” He ignored her, opting to walk back to their instructor. Knowing she had won this round, Sakura followed him. Although, her own steps were a little staggered; he hadn’t been an easy opponent. 

Stopping in front of Iruka, the two waited for the rest of the ninja-to-be’s to appear. Classroom instruction had ended a few hours ago, physical training having commenced afterwards. After some basic warm ups and exercises, the academy students had been told to spread out across the forest. The purpose? To engage in mock fights with whomever they happened upon. With Sakura’s luck, the first person she’d run into was Sasuke, one of the top fighters in the class. 

Despite the minuscule amount of muscles her nine year old body had, Sakura had been able to keep up with the Sasuke. She hadn’t had three decades of practicing the ninja arts for nothing. Using her quick mind and sharper senses, she had managed to give Sasuke a run for his money. Not that she hadn’t ended up with her fair share of bruises. 

“Sakura-chan! You won’t believe this! I had to fight Hinata, you know the really really quite girl! I thought it’d be easy, ya know? But it wasn’t, right Hinata? She’s really good!” Naruto bounced up to Sakura, Hinata timidly trailing behind him. Did that boy always have to shout? Shaking her head fondly, Sakura smiled warmly at him. 

“Hello to you too, Naruto. You as well, Hinata” The shy girl nodded in reply, her gaze on the blond boy in front of her. The dark haired girl looked the same as she did at twelve, if only smaller. Her short locks framed her face, emphasizing her delicate features. Her outfit was simple, consisting of purple leggings and a tan tee shirt. Red flames adorned the shoulders of said shirt, encased in their usual yellow circle. “Come on you two, we have to listen to Iruka...sensei.” 

Not noticing her hesitation, they happily walked over to the chunin. Adding the honorific had been odd for Sakura, since she’d been specifically told not to upon gaining her jonin rank. It’d been the same with all of the upper ranking ninja she’d met. Sakura didn’t even want to think about meeting Kakashi again, as the two had become accustom to using mocking nicknames to rile each other up. It had been a sort of tradition between them to see who would come up with the better insult. Of course, it had all been in good fun. Nothing serious was ever uttered, should one of them take it to heart. 

Breaking out of her reverie, Sakura jogged to catch up to her classmates; who were already gathered around their sensei. She slipped in between Naruto and Sasuke, who’d been arguing in whispers about something trivial. 

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Underground in his current lair, Orocimaru frowned. To take Konoha would require careful planning, he couldn’t rush in like last time. True, getting rid of the fourth Kazekage had been an added bonus in his first plan; but it had prompted the Sand village to unite with Konoha against him. If he were to overthrow his old village successfully, he would have to take extra measures. 

Time wasn’t critical, he would gladly take years for this plan to form completely. Just as long as he got his due. Once again his hand drifted to his stomach, as it had been doing all day. Most importantly, he would take pleasure in ripping the life from the pink haired bitch who’d killed him. 

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_..Running. She was running again, gasping for breath, hoping to make it in time. Bypassing burning buildings, crying children and broken bodies. She could not help them. No, rather, their suffering was inconsequential. Smirking without mirth, the woman wondered when she had become so cold. Used to be she’d stop to save a poor bunny with a broken leg. Anything to help anyone. But now..Now she had a job to do, a mission._

_Reaching the outer wall at last, the Sakura took a moment to gaze at the sight before her. The giant fox Kurama razed the outskirts of Konoha, it’s power like a hot iron against her temples. Facing it was the Yondaime on his giant toad. His hands were a blur, forming the seals that would ensure his death and the village’s survival._

_Without thinking Sakura lunged, chakra in her legs propelling her upwards towards the Yondaime. She was too late for Kushina but she’d be damned if she didn’t save at least one of Naruto’s parents. He’d worked so hard on the justu that would save them. She couldn’t let him down._

_Now at the top of the toad, Sakura was by the Hokage’s side in an instant. Ignoring his protests she brought her hands to his forehead, pumping her own chakra into him. With the chakra, she infused her thoughts-giving him the reason for her interference._

_While at first he resisted, the Yondaime was too caught up in his jutsu to have any mobility; instead, he let the information wash over him with the unfamiliar ninja’s chakra. And what he gleaned shocked him deeply. If this kunoichi was correct, then he would be able to secure the nine-tails without giving his own life...Blinking back tears Minato’s resolve hardened. Putting his faith in the unknown ninja, he let her take charge of the seal._

_And take charge she did. Grasping onto the strands of the jutsu, Sakura molded her chakra with the Yondaime’s, manipulating both. Once together, she was able to direct the flow of physical energy of Kurama through Minato and his toad, into the ground. Using up all of her concentration, Sakura allowed the man beside her to push the Spiritual energy of the fox into baby Naruto. Working together and sharing their chakra, they could concentrate fully on their separate tasks._

_Sweating, Sakura once again felt her time running up. Just like with Kakashi, there was a slight tilt to the world. Breathing harshly she put all of her focus on the flow of chakra. The sealing was almost done...if only she could make it. Hands shaking now, she tried to make that final push to completion._

_The world shifted around her and she was gone, the justu incomplete._

Bolting upright the younger Sakura grimaced. Her head was one massive ache. Reaching up, she tenderly cradled her forehead. Another memory. So she hadn’t disappeared completely after saving Obito, only travelled further up the time stream. But how? And again, why the hell was she nine now?

Rubbing her head realization struck her. Naruto’s seals. It had to be. 

Her coming back had been planned, hoped for really. Naruto and Kakashi, unable to cope with the world they were in, worked on a impossible jutsu to transport someone into the past. It had been a last ditch plan, brought on by too many comrades dying and seeing their home destroyed. Kakashi, with his extensive knowledge of jutsu, had formulated the outline. While the specifics were still hazy, Naruto had been able to translate it down into a rudimentary seal. Working together, they’d refined the seal and accompanying jutsu until it would work. Or, at least, until they hoped it would work. 

All they needed was a transportee. Kakashi wouldn’t work, the sharingan had interfered with his chakra network and would be too difficult to compensate for. Naruto would be working as the power source for the seal, so he was out. Tsunade was in a coma, Jiraiya dead, all of the rookie nine passed on as well, and most of the capable jonin were out on the battlefield. Sakura was really their only option.

So she’d agreed. Those had been her friends and comrades as well. 

But never would Sakura have dreamed Naruto to have designed the seal so complexly. The level of mastery it’d have taken to specify when she would appear was mind boggling. Smiling fondly Sakura could only concede that her knuckle-headed ninja made a fine Hokage. No one else could have accomplished his feats. 

Still smiling to herself, the girl got out of the bed sheets she was tangled in. Going about her morning activities without much thought, she was able to ponder the new memory that had surfaced. Minato Nimakaze had survived the Kuubi attack. Or, at least, she assumed so. Why else would the villagers treat Naruto with kindness; in her time, he hadn’t received that recognition until he’d garnered peace with Sand. His father had to be alive this time around.

Putting on a red jacket, Sakura trotted down the stairs and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Saying a quick goodbye to her mother and father, she jumped up onto the rooftops and started towards the training grounds. It was still early, hopefully she could get an hour of taijutsu practice in. She was still pretty week, having only been nine for a few days, and extra training wouldn’t hurt. Besides, she-

Sakura barely stopped herself from falling off of a shopkeepers roof. Her eye’s were glued to the mountain that held the Hokage’s portraits. Something was off, but what? Slowly, Sakura felt a creeping sense of dread fill her. There were five heads. Five. Staring blankly at the farthest on on the right Sakura’s heart stopped. There, where Tsunade’s head had rested so proudly before, was Danzo’s face.


	6. Kage

Shorter one but, well, you'll see.  
Happy Reading!

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She was panicking yes, but did people really have to stare so much? Was a lone girl wandering the street hyperventilating so odd? Surely someone must understand why she was so scared. She couldn’t be the only one terrified with Danzo as her Hokage? No, not _her_ Hokage. Just _the_ Hokage. The only one who would ever be her’s was Naruto. Naruto...oh god. If Danzo was Hokage then what happened to Minato? Why the hell wasn’t he Hokage?

Now truly scared (she had come back to make Naruto’s life easier, dammit) Sakura gathered what little wits she had at the moment and jumped back up onto the rooftops. She’d had to go down on the streets after seeing Danzo’s face, or else risk falling off in her haze of fear. Back above the village, with less prying eyes, she took a moment to orient herself. Where did the Namikaze’s live? She knew they had their own settlement, but it hadn’t been used in her time. 

Thinking back to conversations she’d had with Naruto, Sakura thought she recalled him talk about the Namikaze compound. Had he ever mentioned where it was though? Pacing across the roof she was on, Sakura furrowed her brows as she thought harder. Was it…ah! Grin flashing across her face despite her gnawing worry, Sakura remembered Naruto telling her that the Namikaze’s had lived beside the mountain. The only area that wasn’t Shinobi or government property beside the mountain were the woods behind the Hokage’s tower. 

Right now Sakura was currently in the town’s bigger market area, so she would have to head northeast then. Now with a set destination in mind, Sakura ignored the small part of her that was reminding her of the academy class that would be starting soon. It would be okay to miss class this once, for a reason this important. Right?

Shaking off her doubts, Sakura bounded across the rooftops. Passing a couple of higher ranking Chunin and Jonin, Sakura flashed them a friendly smile. They gave her odd looks as she passed them, not many genin travelled across rooftops casually, let alone an obvious academy student. As they disappeared behind her, Sakura let her eyes trail back to the stone heads that rested atop the mountain she was headed for. Danzo’s carved eyes seemed to follow her. 

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Landing on a tree bordering the compound, Sakura raked her eyes over the buildings before her. They looked well tended too. But that meant little. With the knowledge of seals the Namikaze clan contained, simple scrolls to keep the buildings looking nice and clean were easy to procure. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Sakura quieted her chakra. 

Sakura carefully began to push at the edge of her awareness, seaching over each building,one by one, for any life forms that weren’t insects or small animals. Since practically all of the decedents of the Namikaze clan were deceased, the buildings she combed were empty. Fear fluttering in her chest, Sakura continued her search for the former Hokage. House after house she checked. And still no sign of life. 

“Please...” The words were barely a whisper, a desperate hope. He had to be here. Naruto had to be happy again. Without his dad- there! In one of the side buildings a faint chakra signature rested. It was awake and very much alive. Not probing deeper into the chakra Sakura smiled broadly. She wanted to leap and shout with joy, but contained herself. There was a real chance that this wasn’t Minato. She would have to go to the house in person to check. Reeling in her senses, Sakura began her journey around the border of the compound. If she went straight through there was a chance she’d hit a trap. Sticking to the edge was safer.

Once on the other side, with no mishaps or traps triggered, Sakura did a quick survey of the house. It was smaller than the others but more homey. The white brick walls were topped with a dark shade of red, a pretty combination. Flowers decorated windowsills, obviously having come in from the well tended garden beside the house. The windows themselves were large and open to let the summer breeze flow throughout the house. That had the added bonus of bringing in the garden’s luscious scent.

Peering through one of the windows she had access to, Sakura could see a man laying on a comfy blue sofa. His feet were propped up on one of the armrests and his head lay on the other, out of her sight. Wanting to confirm that this was indeed Minato, Sakura jumped down to a lower branch, still above the wall surrounding the compound. It was too risky to enter uninvited. Once in position, Sakura could see the entirety of the person. 

A mop of yellow hair adorned his head, falling in wild bangs around his face. His eyes were a shocking blue, the exact same as Naruto. In fact, he could be a Kage Buushin of her blonde friend. The only thing missing were the scratch marks on his cheeks. Sakura couldn’t help but sigh in relief. This could only be Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage. Naruto still had his dad. 

Happiness for her comrade fading, a small frown adorned Sakura’s face. If Minato was alive, then why was Danzo Hokage? What happened that had changed things so drastically? First the Uchiha Massacre had never happened and now this...

Shaking her head ruefully, Sakura knew she really shouldn’t be so surprised. Nothing in life was ever fully good. Everything came with some crap. Thinking on it, it seemed as if all of the major events in her life had come with a good and bad side.

First there was becoming a Kunoichi in general. She had gotten her father’s full fledged support and her mothers ire. Then there was falling in love with Sasuke. She had gained a new part of growing up but lost her friend Ino in the process. After that she had started training with Tsunade and gotten serious about being a ninja when Sasuke had left Konoha. When Kakashi finally started taking notice of her, Naruto left with Jiraiya to become stronger. Naruto returned, with his master dead. Sasuke returned, his master inside of him. Life had finally settled down, and Pein attacked. And now this. Sakura was back in the past with no clue as to what to do. Everything she had known had changed. She was lost.

Suddenly, Minato moved, shaking her out of her depressing thoughts. He was standing up and stretching slowly. Wiping away the tears that had come with her musings, Sakura missed his next movement. One second he was in his house; the next, a Kunai was stuck in the bark right by her head and he was in the garden. Automatically Sakura grabbed her own kunai and sprang out of the tree. Landing on the ground across from Minato she was brought off guard to see him on his knees. Shaking. And moaning. What?

Forgetting that he had attacked her moment before, Sakura’s medic instincts took over. She was by his side in an instant. Her hand rested lightly on his back as she reached for her chakra and morphed it into its medical form. While difficult without real training yet, she managed to do it. Once she had enough medical chakra, she pushed it into Minato and tried to find out what was wrong with him. The second her chakra touched his, she flinched, her own chakra dissipating. Sakura’s mouth dropped in horror, eyes widened in pity. 

What had once been a strong chakra system had been reduced to burned out pathways. Minato’s chakra was still there, but it was immobile. Stuck, he had no way to mold it to his will. No ninjutsu. No genjutsu. No fuuinjutsu. Nothing. Hell, she was surprised he could still move. 

Sakura’s eyes welled with tears as she realization hit her. She was the one who had done this to him. Her incomplete Jutsu to seal the Ninetails had all but ruined one of the greatest Kage ever. She had hurt Naruto’s father.


	7. Broken

Happy Reading!  
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Sakura cradled the broken man in her arms, her sobs held at bay through sheer will as Minato’s body convulsed. She had done this to him. She was the one who’d hurt him. Naruto’s father. “No…” The groan escaped her lips involuntarily. How could she have messed up this badly? Sakura left him with the horribly powerful Kyuubi, his crying infant son, and an incomplete sealing Jutsu. Why couldn’t she have stayed a few moments longer? 

She’d let them down, both Minato and Naruto. A few tears fell from her eyes despite her efforts. How had this affected her blonde friend? Had she unwittingly made his life harder? She’d thought the villagers treated him with more kindness but maybe she was mistaken. Dammit. More tears fell as she cradled Minato. If she had made Naruto’s life harder she could never-

“Dad?”

Sakura whipped around, startled by the sudden voice. An enemyshinobi had gotten past the Namikaze seals? Why hadn’t she sensed their presence- Oh. That’s why.

Naruto stood before her, blue eyes full of confusion. He held a kunai uncertainly in his hands. “S-Sakura-chan?” The knife lowered slightly, his defensive posture loosening, “Uh, what’re you doing here? Not that I’m not happy you’re at my house! I just...uh...” As Naruto scratched his head in confusion, Minato stirred in Sakura’s arms. Seeing his father move, Naruto trotted over to his side, brows knitting in worry.

Sakura shuffled back a little to give the Minato room to rise to a sitting position. As he did so, Minato’s face twisted in obvious pain. Pain he must be living with daily. Sakura had to turn her head away for a moment to blink back her tears.

Turning her head back around, Sakura focused on what Minato was saying to his son, “..a girl in your class? Ah, that must be why I felt no killing intent from her. Don’t look at me like that Naru, I wasn’t going to hurt your girlfriend. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t a threat.” At Naruto’s red-faced babbling and Sakura’s small frown, Minato amended his words, “Wasn’t going to hurt your friend.”

While Sakura was used to people assuming Naruto and her were in a relationship, she didn’t want to give his younger version any wrong ideas. He was her brother first and foremost. Besides, he’d been happier with-

“You okay Sakura-chan? My old man didn’t mean to hurt you. Like he said, he just wanted to know you weren’t a threat. Ya know? Cuz he’s an awesome ninja, my dad is! He was Hokage, did ya know? An’ I’ll be Hokage too someday! Dattebayo!”

Shaking off thoughts of the past, Sakura smiled up at her friend. He still had the tendency to babble when embarrassed, “Don’t worry Naruto, it was my fault for entering the grounds in such a fashion,” Sudden realization that she needed an excuse as to why she was trespassing on Namikaze grounds, her mind raced, “You see, I was..uh..following a, erm, a cat! It was so cute that I couldn’t...I couldn’t just let it escape without, um, without petting it! Yeah..I really really wanted to pet it.” 

Her lies were still horrible, which bothered Sakura greatly. Under Tsunade’s tutelage, Sakura had had her fair share of undercover missions. Missions that required she be able to come up with a story on the spot. True, it had been a number of years since she had needed to use that skill, but she shouldn’t be this bad! She’d have to work on that along with chakra practice and physical training. 

“Oh, a cat? They are cute little things aren’t they? Although, by now it must have run off too far for you to catch up. What a shame,” Minato’s words were full of suspicion, but that didn’t surprise Sakura. Anyone would obviously have some doubts about such a weak story. She silently berated herself again. 

Minato opened his mouth as if to say more but instead, he doubled up in pain. Slowly he rose, putting a hand on Naruto’s shoulder as he did so. Clutching his stomach, Minato began a slow walk towards the abandoned couch. It must have taken a lot out of him to attack Sakura. 

To his credit, Naruto immediately rushed to his father’s side, “Dad! Here, let me help you.” With an air of having done this many times before, Naruto grabbed onto his father’s arm and helped guide him to the couch. They walked slowly, so they wouldn’t aggravate Minato further. “Do you need anything? Water or food?” Minato shook his head and fell onto the couch, eyes closing in weariness. Within seconds of laying down, he fell asleep.

Somewhat taken off guard by the fast change of events, Sakura only watched as Naruto gathered up a blanket to put on his father. Naruto then got a cold glass of water and placed it on the table by Minato, so he would have it when he awoke. “Oh Naruto…” Sakura’s words fell from her lips in a whisper.

“What?” The blond boy looked at her wearily, as if he expected her to rebuke him for his father’s pain. Sakura was surprised her had heard her and more than a little disturbed by his defensive reaction. Did people usually mock him for his father? 

“You....I should go now. I don’t know why I chased that silly cat in the first place.” Sakura smiled at Naruto, “I’ll see you in class tomorrow, yeah?” Naruto, realizing that she didn’t hate him for his father’s weakness, smiled brightly in return and nodded. 

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In what would one day be the village of the Sound, Orochimaru paced across his quarters. This was bad. This was very, very bad. Damn that Danzo for taking over control. Damn the council for letting him. 

All of his plans, all of his precious, carefully constructed plans were useless now. An alliance with the Suna would be pointless, since they had no great hatred of Konoha in this time. That stupid old man had gone and forced a treaty on them with his militaristic might with a ruthlessness the old Konoha would never have shown. 

Taking a deep breath Orochimaru stopped his frantic movements. No. This was okay. He was okay. It would just take some more time to put his future in motion. All he had to do was face the problems of today step by step. 

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Waking up was always going to be a battle, Sakura decided. Stretching slowly, she felt each of her joints pop satisfyingly. Sakura pushed the sheets off of her stiff legs and climbed out of bed. Looking across at the mirror placed against her wall, Sakura lightly touched her long hair. While she didn’t mind it too much, it did bothered her slightly. She had always kept her hair short as a testament to the promise she’d made in the Forest of Death: she would protect her loved ones, even if it cost her life. Now, having made that same promise a second time, Sakura decided that it was time she shorten her hair again. 

Walking towards the kunai pouch on her desk, Sakura pulled out one of the sharper ones. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Sakura raised the knife. This meant more than just a fashion statement. This was solidifying her promise. Naruto wouldn’t watch his village fall around him, everything he’d worked for destroyed. Sasuke would never leave the village for Orochimaru. Kakashi would keep his new family, Team 7 wouldn’t be broken apart. And Tsunade…Tsunade sure as hell wasn’t going to fall into any sort of coma if Sakura had anything to say about it. 

Sakura grabbed her hair and ran the kunai through it.

Staring at her new image in the mirror, Sakura smiled. He once-long locks fell slightly above her ears, much shorter than they had ever been. She’d cut off a little bit more than she’d meant too, but it would grow back. However, many of the ends were frayed, something that couldn’t be ignored. Kunai were no replacement for scissors. 

Grasping her bangs in her left hand, Sakura began to adjust them. They looked quite silly being so long next to her cropped hair. Next, she evened out the ends of her hair, which took more concentration than her bangs had. After some time Sakura’s hair looked presentable.

Satisfied with her work, Sakura cleaned up the hair that had fallen all around her. Once that was done, she went about her daily routine. Teeth cleaned, body washed, and a sturdy red jacket on, Sakura was ready to head out. She trotted downstairs to grab a loaf of bread for breakfast on the go. Her mother gave Sakura a small goodbye without looking at her. She still hadn’t quite forgiven Sakura for abandoning her girly ways. 

This was alright in Sakura’s books, as she and her mother had never been overly close even when she was an adult. It also helped put off the inevitable meltdown when her haircut was discovered. Her father, who was currently at their family’s shop, wouldn’t mind as much. It’d just be another bit of gossip to tell anyone who’d listen to his ramblings. 

Once outside, Sakura leaped onto the rooftops, her usual route to school. The feat was easier now, thanks to the nightly training sessions she forced herself to do. Having decided that mornings were best left to sleep in, she had been doing basic strength and chakra exercises the past week after dark. It also helped that less people were around to question her on her knowledge of both. 

Feeling the familiar prickle of chakra at her forehead, Sakura was glad to note that her White Seal was still forming nicely. There was hardly any chakra in it, but the girl knew that all she could do was push on patiently. 

Push on patiently....like Naruto had been doing all of his life. This one and the last. There he was a hated demon, waiting for the people to love him. Here he was a happy son, waiting till his father got better. 

Good mood waning, Sakura felt familiar worry for Naruto rise. It had been a little over a week since her encounter with Minato, and Naruto had taken it upon himself to tell her every little thing about his father. How he had been the greatest Hokage ever, saving the village from the horrible Nine-Tailed Beast. How he had sacrificed his own chakra system for the betterment of his people. How Naruto had grown up helping him deal with daily issues, like getting dressed and eating. How Danzo had let Minato keep his Namikaze grounds even though there were only two people living in it. How much Naruto loved his father. How his father would get better one day.

…He wouldn’t. 

Sakura had seen cases like his before, where a person had fried out their chakra system. Whether it was from using a Jutsu far above their level or from some sort of accident didn’t matter. They were never able to use it again. Now gloomy, Sakura landed in front of the academy. Shaking her head, Sakura knew she had to get out of her funk. She was sad for her friend, yes. But the day had to go on. Straightening up from her crouch, Sakura wiped off her cloudy expression and walked into the building.

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“SAKURA-CHAN!??”

Naruto ran up to the aforementioned girl, mouth agape. “Y-YOUR HAIR!!” Sakura stifled a giggle. He was still as open-hearted as ever. “What happened??” He lowered his voice, conscious that other people were staring. 

Sakura smiled, “Just trying to change my image.” He continue to gape.

“Dobe, it’s not that big of a deal.” Sasuke had come up behind Sakura while Naruto’d been blabbering. “It’s just hair. Doesn’t matter if it’s short or long” A small gasp issued from the nearby Ino at this statement, her hand jumping to her own long blonde locks. “Now get out of my way, I want to sit down.”

Naruto puffed up his chest, angered at being talked to like he was a child, “Teme! Who asked you!?” 

“Dobe.”

“Teme!”

Sakura could only sigh. There were some things that she hadn’t missed on Team 7, no matter how nostalgic they were.


	8. Passage

ehe~ motivations a bitch.  
Happy Reading!

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“...Team 7: Naruto Namikaze, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in. As impossible as they seemed they were achingly familiar. After a taking a second to collect to her thoughts, Sakura let a grin slide across her face. She was okay. Everything would be okay. She had her team again.  
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It been three years since Sakura had travelled back in time to find so many things changed. The one center she could find was in her comrades and their core personalities. Naruto was loud, Sasuke quiet, Ino flirtatious, Hinata shy, Kiba was snarky, Shino observant, Shikamaru a lazy genius, and Choji always hungry. They treated each other the same: as friends, rivals, comrades, and love interests. Her parents were the same, her neighbors were the same, her sensei’s the same. It was nice, this familiarity. But she couldn’t ignore the changes.

There were some differences that were good. Sasuke had his family and his brother. Naruto had his father and friends. The village was slightly more trusting of its own.

…But many others weren’t.

Naruto’s father could barely move on his own, forcing his son to care for him. Danzo was in control of Konoha, the council disbanded long ago. Her home was far more militaristic than it had been under the fourth’s rule. Shinobi took on higher risk missions, some that wouldn’t have even been considered before. Low rank assassination missions could now be taken by jonin instead of being solely under Anbu jurisdiction. The biggest shock of all- the graduation test for academy students was to fight their peers until the last one stood. There were no deaths, but injuries were common. If a student didn’t meet the required skill expectations they were forced to retake their entire academy lessons again. It was harsh. Still, Sakura had passed along with the rookie nine.

For three years Sakura built up her stamina, both chakra and physical. Her fighting style greatly resembled her former sensei’s, Tsunade. No one had questioned Sakura on it since she’d changed it gradually. She’d also learned the basics of medical training under one of the nurses at the hospital. While she wasn’t considered a full-fledged medic nin, no one knew about the extra hours Sakura’d put in to regain some of her former skills. Because of the extra training, the girl’s chakra reserves had built up to resemble what she’d had at the age of 16. While it wasn’t a lot compared to powerhouses like Sasuke and Naruto-even at their young age- she was fairly proud of it. 

Along with her physical and chakra training, Sakura had continuously pumped a small amount of chakra into her Byakugo. She had mere months left before it was complete. Hiding it would be a problem, but she was sure she could find a way when the time came. Sakura would rather not think about what Danzo would do if he learned about her seal. 

Three long years of training, growing, and waiting had passed. Sakura had her old team back, and she’d be damned before anything bad happened to them this time around. 

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Sakura frowned and huffed. Her back ached and wouldn’t subside even with the help of medical chakra. While she had been a little overzealous in her training last night, too excited to sleep, she should at least be able to sooth her back! Making another small noise, Sakura didn’t see the curious looks Naruto was giving her. Team 7 was currently waiting for their sensei, having been told he would come and meet them after class. That had been a few hours ago and all three were getting a little stir crazy. And while Sakura didn’t like sitting around for so long, she couldn’t help but be happy for it this time. The only one who could be so late, even under Danzo’s rule, was the infamous copy nin. 

Kakashi would be their sensei again. The mere thought of that made Sakura smile. In the three years she’d only gotten glimpses of him walking about. Without an excuse to talk to him, she found that she’d missed her friend greatly. After Sasuke had died, Naruto’d gone to his work as Hokage with a passion. Feeling abandoned, Sakura had gravitated towards Kakashi and the two had grown close. It was a friendship she would be glad to make again. 

Huffing once again, Sakura growled. She knew it would take time for her to be able to talk to Kakashi as an equal. Right now she was a twelve year old genin and he a twenty nine year old jonin. Stupid age difference. 

“Aahhh I can’t take it! Why are you so grumpy, Sakura-chan!??” Naruto, fed up with Sakura’s small mumbles, burst out. He walked the few steps to the desk she was sitting on and made a tiny whining noise. “What’s wrooonng?” 

Not aware she had been verbalizing her complaints, Sakura jumped at his outburst. Well, he was Naruto. Patience wasn’t one of his virtues. “I was trying to figure out what you would look like with Sasuke’s hairstyle. I didn’t like it.”

Naruto slumped slightly, “That’s it?”

“Dobe.” Sasuke cut in with his usual smirk.

“Tem-”

“No! We are not having a contest of who can insult who the longest again!” Sakura leapt up from her chair and grabbed Naruto’s shirt collar. Dragging him to the opposite side of the room from the Uchiha, she plopped him on the floor. “Stay here. Don’t talk.” She had enough of their bickering to last a lifetime.

“But Sakuraaa-chaaann.”

“No, Naruto. And don’t sit there smiling Sasuke, you’re being put in the other corner.”

“Tch.” Came his elaborate response. 

“Well, I guess I know who wears the pants around here.” Sakura flinched. That wasn’t Naruto or Sasuke. Whipping her head towards the door she saw the familiar visage of her sensei. “Hello darling students, meet me on top of the roof in five minutes. Or you’re dead.” With a happy crinkle of his eye Kakashi Hatake disappeared. 

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This was nostalgic 

Now on the roof of the academy, Sakura plopped herself down on the lowest step of the almost pointless stairs-there were only three, was their presence really necessary? Shifting her weight she found a comfortable position. Sakura leaned back on her hands, eyes following her teammates movements. Sasuke was gracefully placing himself next to her with a bored look on his face. Naruto on the other hand, jumped down to the middle step, almost fell, flailed his arms, and did fall. 

Sakura had to smother her laughter as Kakashi leaned against the railing in front of them, hand trailing to the pocket that Sakura was sure held his precious Icha Icha. “Maa, are you really a ninja?” Kakashi’s usually teasing voice was flat. Unemotional. His eye, too, lacked the warmth Sakura was accustomed to. “ I won’t take any deadbeats on my team.” 

Sakura had to push back the unease she felt at Kakashi’s behavior, instead focusing on Naruto’s whiny retort to their sensei’s words. Maybe Kakashi was just in a bad mood. He could get pretty grumpy at times. “Deadbeat?? Let me tell you, one day I’m going to bec-”

“How about we introduce ourselves?” Kakashi’s crinkled eye held no laughter. “Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams.” Moving his hand away from his pocket, Kakashi crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’ll start. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no likes. I have no dislikes. No hobbies or dreams.” A long pause. Another fake eye crinkle. “Your turn.” Sakura shuddered, her right hand moving instinctively to her kunai pouch. What was this? This was not her Kakashi. 

“Orange boy, you go first.”

Startled by the jonin’s cold attitude, Naruto had kept quiet after being cut off. Seeing that he was allowed to talk, a somewhat forced grin spread across his face. “My name is Namikaze Naruto. I like ramen, my dad, cooking ramen, Sakura-chan, eating ramen, and Sasuke-Teme cuz I can beat him so much. I dislike spoiled ramen, people who laugh at my dad, and uneaten ramen. My hobbies are...” He was silent a moment. “My hobbies are reading the scrolls in my dads library. And my dream?” Here his smile grew wide, “My dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever!”

Queit, dark chuckling followed his statement. Chilling cold spread through Sakura as she saw Kakashi’s hand raise to cover his laughing mouth. Why is he- “Hokage? You. Hokage?” The silver haired man spoke with disbelief and cruelty. “The Crippled Flash’s son, Hokage? You must be joking.” Naruto flinched, his eyes flickering red in anger. Clenching his fist, Naruto visibly pushed back the fury that arose whenever he heard the horrible parody of his father’s nickname. Before he could retort though, Kakashi pointed to Sasuke, “Alright, you. Next.” The jonin’s laughter died, face blank once more. 

Naruto could only stand there, speechless, as the jonin ignored him. Sakura could only stare wide-eyed at Kakashi, still not quite believing what was happening. Sasuke, not knowing what else to do, answered the questions. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training, reading, tomatoes, and playing the lute. I dislike those who don’t try. My hobby is fishing….And my dream is to...join the military police.” Obviously having held something back, Sasuke waited for Kakashi’s judgement. 

“Okay. Pinkie, you next.” 

Nothing? He laughs at Naruto but stays silent with Sasuke? Does he not want to offend the Uchiha clan or....oh. Seeing the ticked off look on Sasuke’s face, Sakura understood. No, Kakashi’s not worried about clans, he’s just treating Sasuke in a way he knows will hurt- he’s ignoring the boy. And Sasuke, after years of only being overlooked by his own father, cannot stand being ignored.

Trembling with a small amount of fear, Sakura answered the suddenly unfamiliar man. “My name is Haruno Sakura. I like..my comrades..and training.” Her words came out slowly, “My hobby is reading. And..my dream for the future? Is to...to improve it.”

One silver eyebrow raised questioningly and Kakashi muttered, “Improve? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” The man waited for Sakura to answer. Getting nothing but silence in return, Kakashi snapped, “Your dislikes?”

“I dislike..” Danzo’s face flashed in her mind. He did this to Kakashi. It was because of him Kakashi was so cruel so..unfamiliar. Jaw clenching and spine straightening, Sakura stared straight into this new Kakashi’s eyes, “I dislike a certain man. A man who I am going to kill.”

There was silence. Sasuke threw her a questioning look and Naruto frowned. Kakashi returned her stare. 

“Kill? Surely you can’t be serious. A tiny cherry flower like you going to hurt someone? It’s laughable.” Standing away from the railing, Kakashi grunted, “Meet me on training ground three tomorrow at 6 in the morning. Don’t eat breakfast. Or I’ll make you throw it up.” With that, he disappeared.  
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Tall and proud the man stood, facing the widespread window that showed him a perfect view of his village. Creased faced stretched in annoyance, he let his eyes scroll slowly across the report he held. That damned Orochimaru..how dare he even think about attacking Konoha? How dare he think himself worthy enough to even breath the air of the leaf? The scum.

Throwing the paper back onto his desk, Danzo turned away from the picturesque view. He would have to send out another ANBU squad to attempt to determine the whereabouts of the foul snake-bastard. After taking years to gain control of Konoha, there was no chance in hell he would give it up to some pathetic usurper. 

He had made the leaf village what it was. He had given it the backbone it needed to become a force to be reckoned with. He had been the one to make a name for Konoha. Not Orochimaru. 

That snake was as good as dead.


	9. Bell Test

Eating had been the wrong idea, Sakura realized with a small groan. As she jumped through the trees on her way towards training ground three, Sakura rubbed her aching stomach. Branches whipping past, Sakura’s thoughts turned away from her stomach back to her sensei, as they had been doing the entire night before. While Kakashi’s new attitude troubled her greatly, she hoped that by today he would be better. Somehow. Everyone was allowed their grumpy days, right? Her stomach gave a loud grumble as she landed, the first one to arrive.

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Once the entirety of team seven arrived, Kakashi wasted no time in starting the training exercise. With a short explanation on the fact that not everyone got to be a shinobi after the academy exams, he went straight on to the bell test. No dramatic pause to enjoy the aghast look of the genin. No crinkly-eyed smile at their dismay. Just a cold frown of indifference as he leaped backwards into the middle of the clearing. 

Naruto, being the idiot that he was, jumped straight at Kakashi. The older man easily blocked his attack, not even sparing the boy a glance. “Come on now, you must have more than that.” Growling, Naruto went in again with no forethought. Swinging his fist wildly he was quickly thrown back against the ground. “Maa, no? Well then, how about little Uchiha there?”

Sakura watched as Kakashi turned away from a dazed Naruto to face a shaken Sasuke. When Kakashi’s eye’s hit him, Sasuke crouched low to the ground instinctively. Reaching up to grab a kunai, he pounced. While running, Sasuke brought his hands up to form the seals that would allow him to use his katon justu. As he was about to use it though, he found himself thrust backwards-the air leaving his chest and fire dying in his throat. 

Kakashi, with less than a blink of the eye, had used a wind-type justu to counter Sasuke’s blow before it had even been made. He wasn’t making any effort subdue his power in the wake of his Genin’s lesser strength. All Sasuke could do was fall.

“Now then, how about we try the killer cherry next?” Rounding on the girl with a fake smile, he waited for her to make the first move.

Until now, Sakura could only watch as both boys were struck down without mercy. Her thoughts had been frozen, finally realizing that Kakashi’s behavior wasn’t due to simple grouchiness. He was like an entirely different person. But..hadn’t she saved him? Hadn’t she ended his lonely life by saving his best friend and teammate Obito? What....what had Danzo done to him?

Anger, pure and slow, simmered her chest. Danzo. The man she vowed to kill for his pathetic vie for power. For his twisted ideals of what a strong village was. Focusing her hatred on a physical target, she set her sights on the twisted version of her friend and struck.

Opting to take the same direct route as her teammates, Sakura ran forwards. Gathering chakra in her feet, she crammed it down into the ground to give herself more speed. Kakashi, not taken by surprise at all, aimed a none-to-gentle kick at Sakura’s head. 

Smirking slightly, Sakura let her chakra flow through the familiar pattern of a replacement justu-having no need to use her hands after three years of practice. With a billow of smoke, she appeared in the trees to the right of her sensei. Not taking a single moment to rest, she jumped right back into the battle with her kunai drawn. 

Sakura took a swipe at his head, knowing she would miss. Letting herself take his counter punch to her stomach, she brought up her other hand and managed to get a small cut on his right arm. 

Jumping away, she lost all pretense of thought; instead, she fell back into her old fighting style. Tightening her right hand into a fist, she slammed it into the ground along with a sharp burst of chakra. The ground fractured. Too small. Confused, Sakura checked her chakra levels. She should have had enough to create a large crater in the ground, not this pathetic hole-

Suddenly reality hit. Sakura was in her twelve year old body, not her thirty-two year old one. And as a twelve year old genin, she should not have known how to pool chakra into her fist to increase her strength just as the legendary Sannin Tsunade did. Shit. Panting, Sakura whipped her head around to see Kakashi’s reaction, only to see him make the final seal of a Jutsu. 

Leaves flew up from the ground to whirl around her as Sakura felt a Genjutsu settle itself over her mind. Frowning, Sakura realized Kakashi had probably placed the Hell-Viewing Jutsu on her, just as he had done the last time she was a Genin. Knowing this new Kakashi wouldn’t hold back, Sakura figured that a simple Kai wouldn’t be enough to break her out of it. Still she tried. As she had guessed, it didn’t work.

The only other thing she could do was try to pick out the irregularities in the Genjutsu. Once her subconscious realized this wasn’t reality, she’d be free. Taking a look around, Sakura kept her hand near her kunai pouch. Staying prepared calmed her nerves a little. The training field was empty, only the hole in the ground proof that her battle with Kakashi had happened at all. 

“S....aku...ra....”

Steeling herself, Sakura turned around towards the tree line. There, on the ground, was her team. Her old team. Naruto, in his Hokage apparel, had no lower body. His torso was bleeding profusely, rips and cuts adorned his bruised face. He was dead. Next to him was Sasuke, limbs twisted in all the wrong directions. The dark haired man’s breathing was harsh, blood pouring out of his mouth. In front of them both lay Kakashi, in his usual jonin outfit. His eyes were glassy, red liquid pooling underneath his broken chest. 

Sakura screamed.  
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Kakashi, able to see what transpired in the Genjutsu, took a hard look at the pink haired genin. That had been him on the ground in front of her, dead. Along with what looked like an older Naruto and Sasuke. Frowning, he lifted the jutsu. Who the hell was this girl? A memory flickered at the back of his mind...could she be?

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The old apartment at the end of the block was its usual depressing self. No civilian dared venture near it, should they lose the money in their pockets. Stray dogs wandered the streets in front of it, looking for any scrape of food to survive. It was not a nice place to be. But to Kakashi, it was all he had of home. His father’s grounds were long ago demolished in favor of a small, rarely-used bakery. So this is where he’d ended up. 

It was currently after midnight, but for him there would be no sleep tonight. The events of the day kept running through his mind, denying him rest. That girl...she couldn’t have been the woman who’d saved him all those years ago. It was impossible. 

Kakashi frowned, scratching at the small mole above the left side of his mouth. He never forgot a chakra signature. Especially when the person had a great impact on his life. And the woman who’d saved Obito definitely had such an effect....So then how did that killer cherry have the same chakra? While pink hair was uncommon, it wasn’t unheard of that two shinobi would have it. But add to that the chakra...Kakashi growled, frustrated that he couldn’t come to a sensible conclusion. 

Standing up, he walked over to his rugged refrigerator, intent on finding something passible to eat. Cracking open the door, he scanned the shelves. He reached out and grabbed the least moldy apple he could find. Taking an experimental bite, his thoughts continued on their musings of his student, for that was what she now was- after seeing the girl’s Genjutsu there was no way he would let her fall into the care of one of Danzo’s minions. Kakashi sat down on his ratty couch to munch on his apple, which he had deemed edible.

That Genjutsu…why exactly had he shown up in it? Not to mention the two adult versions of who he assumed were Naruto and Sasuke. And yet there the three were, bloodied and beaten as they were. Were they of some importance to the girl? Or perhaps to the woman who’d saved Obito? But no, weren’t the woman and the girl the same- Kakashi rubbed his head, he could feel a headache coming on with all of these thoughts.

Taking another bite of his apple, he sighed. Maybe the two were related somehow. He knew that Sakura’s mother was blonde, having checked after dismissing the three idio-his team. The woman that had saved him could be an aunt? A distant cousin perhaps? Because there was no way.....

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“Hey, Aniki?”

“Yes, Sasuke?”

“....Am I weak..?”

Itachi, bending over his kunai, froze and stared at his younger brother. While the two were quite close, Sasuke had never been one to admit his fears or insecurities. What had brought this on? Meeting his new team yesterday? Smiling gently, he responded, “Compared to others your age, no. Against a chunin, it depends. With a jonin, yes.” Seeing Sasuke’s disgruntled face he added, “But that is in no way a bad thing. You still have much time to grow.”

Sasuke continued to frown, thinking about the bell test he’d taken the other day. While he himself could do nothing against their sensei, that Sakura girl had gotten in a scratch. Hell, she’d broken the ground with only a punch! Where had she learned such a technique? There was no way her civilian parents taught her that; he’d seen them picking her up from class a few times, and noted their merchant clothing...not that he cared. It was just something he’d noticed.

Tch. Still, there was no way she could be so strong. It just didn’t make sense. She must be hiding something.  
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“So your team mates were good then?” Minato, lying down on his familiar blue couch, asked his rather subdued son. Naruto had come home yesterday in a foul mood, not speaking much and going to bed as soon as he could. While he’d been worried, Minato’d chosen to let the young boy settle down before questioning him. 

“...yeah. I got Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme.” Naruto replied, staring down into his bowl of ramen. 

“And your sensei, was he nice?”

A long moment of silence followed his question. Just as he was about to ask again, Naruto spoke, “He called you the Crippled Flash.... And laughed at my dream to become Hokage.” A small tear fell from his face into the bowl, “I don’t like him.”

Minato’s face fell. Again, his son was burdened because of him. As if the maturity needed to take care of his father wasn’t enough, some villagers felt the need to belittle him because of his pathetic excuse for a parent. About to reply and reassure his son, the former Yondaime let out a low groan. His face crumpled in intense pain. His chakra coils would constrict multiple times a day, causing a burning to take over his senses completely.  
Naruto, used to this, could only watch in guilty sadness as his father lay there hurting. If only he was strong enough to help his dad...

More tears disturbed the surface of his ramen.  
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Sakura, alone in her room, bolted upright. The morning sunlight shone through her window and illuminated the sort pink locks dangling in front of her face. 

The girl took a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm her breathing. That night she’d relived the Hell Viewing Jutsu Kakahsi’d put on her. Once again she saw the broken bodies of her loved ones. Once again she could do nothing to help them.

It took a while before she could get herself out of bed.


	10. Attack

Sakura almost laughed. _Almost._ It was funny how things could change so drastically and yet here she was, walking out of Konoha on her first B-class mission. With Tazuna. Like nothing was different. 

Technically the mission was C-class; but once two Chunin attacked, Kakashi would bump it up in rank. Speaking of the Chunin, Sakura glanced down casually at the puddle she passed. It hadn’t rained in days. Peeking out of the corner of her eyes she was able to catch a glimpse of Kakashi. His brow was furrowed, sneaking a look at the same puddle as he passed it. 

Sakura felt a small shiver go down her spine as she looked at her sensei. Over the past few weeks team 7 had gone on multiple D-rank missions together. Surprisingly, they were fairly mundane. Considering Danzo’s harsh rule of Konoha, Sakura was confused as to why he let Genin, even freshly made ones, waste time by picking weeds in a civilians garden. But, she supposed it would boost civilians’ opinion of ninja if shinobi took care of menial tasks for them. They’d feel less compelled to complain to their Hokage. If nothing else, Danzo was good at the politic game. The thought didn’t cheer Sakura up. 

During their missions, Kakashi was fairly tame. He would simply sit in a convenient spot and read a book or scroll until they left. Sakura noticed that he never read Icha Icha. After missions he would simply leave. No smiling, no joking, no teasing. Just a greeting and silence. The only thing that remained of her Kakashi was his continued tardiness. While he no longer gave excuses to being two hours late, it was a small piece of familiarity that Sakura clung to.

But that wasn’t what really scared her. Kakashi hadn’t mentioned the bell test at all. Not to question her precise chakra control, nor the fact that she’d splintered the ground with just a punch, and nothing on the Hell Viewing Jutsu. Why? No normal Genin would be able to do what she could unless they came from a prestigious clan, which Sakura obviously did not. And would he not wonder about his presence in her worst nightmare? Shivers crawling down her spine, Sakura tried not to think of the possibility that he was gathering as much information as he could before handing her over to Danzo.

Clenching her fists to keep them from shaking, Sakura continued walking down the road and waited for the chunin to attack. A few moments later, they did.

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A loud noise echoed from behind Naruto, who took a moment to register what it meant. He’d been glaring at their stupid contractor, Tazuna, for drinking while they were protecting him. Did he not realize that they were ninja and that they deserved some respect? The stupid old man.

Turning around to see what’d made the sound, the Naruto was shocked to see his Sensei caught in a chain. Two creepy Shinobi surrounded him and with a yank of their arms, Kakashi-sensei was ripped into tiny pieces. 

Too shocked to react, Naruto could do nothing as the enemy Nin appeared on either side of him. A whispered “one down” emanated from one of them before they raced in for the attack. Naruto closed his eyes, fear overtaking him. He was going to die here…If only he could have said goodbye to his dad...

**NO**

A screaming red force within him exploded. Caught up in its power, Naruto could only let it take control. His body twisted harshly out of the path of the chain, still covered in Kakashi-sensei’s blood. Crouching on the ground, Naruto tackled the closest Nin. He pummeled the Chunin with blind fury. Punch after punch landed on the enemy Ninja’s face as Naruto let out a low, satisfied growl. _He would not accept death so easily._

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Sakura choked back surprise at Naruto’s sudden counterattack. Last time Sasuke had to come in and save him. Now Naruto was beating the life out of one of the masked enemy. Sasuke was facing the other shinobi, leaving her to protect the client. Again, some things didn’t change.

Shifting closer to Naruto, Sakura gazed at his face. This wasn’t how he normally fought. What had come over him? One look at his face and Sakura felt the blood leave her own. This wasn’t Naruto, this was Kurama. Red eyes thinned into slits were all the confirmation she needed. Breathing heavily, Sakura could only stare as Naruto threw mercy to the wind and continued to beat on the unconscious Shinobi beneath him. 

Sakura’s thoughts raced. Hadn’t it taken Sasuke almost dying for the fox to come out last time? There was no way it would come out to face simple Chunin. His seal was still there right? Still strong?

While this new development was disturbing, Sakura could do nothing at the moment. She could tell that the Ninja Sasuke was fighting would go for her soon, if the looks he threw her way were any indication. She couldn’t leave Tazuna to die. But her eyes kept flickering over to Naruto, worry eating away at her stomach. 

As Sakura watched her friend beat a man to death, she didn’t notice that Kakashi had come up behind her, kunai drawn. 

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A quick glint of light on steel played across the periphery of her vision, accompanied by a light touch on her shoulder, “Maa, Little Killer, you’re not going to help your teammates?”

Green eyes glanced upwards, revealing none of the emotions within, “Why? They’re doing fine and I need to protect Tazuna.” Sakura blinked, “‘Little Killer’? I thought it was Killer Cherry?” Kakashi gave a short laugh in response. 

Sakura watched as he took a step back, forming a seal that would transport him into the nearby trees, “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He vanished in an explosion of smoke.

Sakura visibly relaxed. Kakashi hadn’t put the kunai away for the conversation, keeping it in his hand as an unspoken threat. Still, something about him seemed less..cold..than it had before. There was no malice in his eye as he looked at her. Hopefully he wouldn’t report her to Danzo just yet.

“Sakura-chan!”

At the cry from Naruto, Sakura whipped around to face the oncoming Ninja. The Chunin Naruto had beaten up was unconscious beneath the blonde, but Sasuke’s had slipped out of his grasp to face an easier target-Sakura. 

Crouching slightly, Sakura pulled out a freshly sharpened kunai. Taking a mere second to aim she threw it at the man. He jerked his head out of it’s path, losing his balance as he did so. Sakura took the chance and aimed a kick straight for his gut. It landed with a sickening crunch. The enemy Shinobi flew through the air to crash heavily into a tree along the side of the road. 

Bringing her foot back down, Sakura also retracted the chakra she’d used to power up her hit. The chunin she’d struck was dead, that kick would have burst his innards apart. He had underestimated her, as a lot of male Shinobi tended to. Unluckily for him, and many others, Sakura wasn’t as easy a target as she looked. Even at twevle. Not sparing the man another glance, Sakura walked over to where his companion lay under her friend. She gently moved Naruto aside, “Kakashi...sensei, you can come out now.” It was still hard to remember to add the “sensei” at the end of his name. 

When there was no response from the silver haired man, Sakura sighed, “I would have thought you’d want to talk to him, but I guess not.” She pulled out a fresh kunai, “Then there’s no reason to keep him alive, since I obviously don’t know any interrogation techniques,” A lie. She knew many. 

With no sound or rush of chakra Kakashi was there taking the weapon out of her hand, “Now, now, Little Killer. No need to get ahead of yourself.” Sakura decided she really didn’t like that nickname. “Stay here my precious students, this will only take a moment.” Kakashi grabbed the Ninja roughly while pulling out a Senbon. Both Jonin and unconscious Chunin vanished into the trees.  
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Once they were gone, Sakura looked around. Naruto was next to her with no sign of injuries, good. His eyes were also their usual blue, which relieved Sakura greatly. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to push back Kurama into his seal. Turning her head, Sakura could see Sasuke staring at the ninja she’d kicked. Her teammate was frowning heavily, although he had no wounds to speak of. What could be bothering him? Her eyes fell on the dead Chunin. Oh. 

“If I hadn’t killed him, he would have gotten me first.” Sasuke jerked slightly at Sakura’s words. She watched as he rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, physically wiping the scowl off of his face. In this timeline, he had probably never seen someone die. At least not in battle. “Come over here, we can wait together for Kakashi-sensei” 

As she said that, Sakura tugged at Naruto’s sleeve. He still wore the black t-shirt with his clan symbol on it, although he’d forsaken the orange pants for tan ones. Just another reminder that he was different from her Naruto. At least his face remained the same. Happy blue eyes, scars on his cheeks and the smile that never really left his face. Even now, covered in another man’s blood, the tiny grin was still there. But that might just be because she was looking at him; he always had a smile for her. 

A slight noise beside Sakura was the only tell that Sasuke’d sat down. He’d refrained from commenting on the Chunin, giving in to his usual silence. Staring at him, Sakura couldn’t help but note the differences from her Sasuke. While his shirt still held the Uchiha symbol on its back, it was grey instead of the blue she was used to seeing. He’d traded his white shorts for long black pants. She was fine with that though, the shorts had always made him seem childish. Something he was definitely not. 

His hair was somewhat different, now that she had the time to notice. It was less styled, more messy. Like his older self, Sakura realized. She touched her own shorn locks and repressed a smile. Maybe she didn’t have her old team back completely, but she was happy with what she had.  
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When Kakashi came back he told them all of the threat Tazuna had hidden. The mission was now B rank as she’d expected. Naruto, like his older self, vehemently suggested they continue with it anyways. Kakashi put up less of a fight than he had the last time. Sasuke smiled when they were told they could go on. Sakura simply adjusted her backpack, eager to continue.

They walked on.


	11. Zabuza

That girl was definitely hiding something, Sasuke decided. There was no way around that fact. First the bell test where she’d managed to hurt a _Jonin_ and now she killed a man without batting an eye? No fresh Genin could have done that, not even his Aniki. Anger swelled within his chest. How could she be at such a high level? She was just a civilian! Scowling, Sasuke stared at the girl’s back. 

And then there was their sensei, did he not question her actions at all? Or did he not care? He seemed to hardly acknowledge their presence during missions so it wouldn’t surprise Sasuke. Shifting the weight of his bag to his other shoulder, Sasuke continued to glare holes in the back of Sakura’s red jacket. The white circle seemed to be mocking him. 

They’d crossed over the river by boat and were now in Wave country, walking through some damp area. Hell, this whole places seemed to be one big sponge. Annoying.

“Hey, what was that?” Naruto asked. Sasuke frowned, what had that Dobe heard? Before he could ask, the aforementioned Dobe drew out a kunai and threw it into the bushes. With a squeak, a white rabbit came running out from the bushes. Well, at least his instincts weren’t completely useless. Still, it was only a rabbit. 

Taking a closer look at the rabbit, Sasuke’s brows furrowed. It was snow rabbit, it’s white fur a testament to that, yet it was spring. Shouldn’t the color be brown? About to question Kakashi-sensei, he was cut off with a yell from the man, “Everyone get down!”

Reacting instantly, Sasuke fell to the ground, landing hard on his hands. Glancing from under his arms he saw Naruto in a similar position. Turning his head to the right he was shocked to see Sakura still standing, several Senbon in hand. Why hadn’t she-?

A small chuckle came from a tree above him. Sasuke whipped his head upwards only to be met with the cold eye of a ninja. “Well, look what we have here. Little kunoichi, you don’t really think you can hurt me do you?” Kakashi-sensei moved in front of Sakura, hand near his headband.

“Little Killer, why don’t you let me handle this one?” He raised his Konoha band, revealing a closed, scarred eye. Sasuke blinked. Suddenly, in the back of his mind, he remembered something. Kakashi-sensei....that name....could it be?

Kakashi-sensei opened his eye to reveal red. 

It was. How could he not have noticed before? His sensei was the one who had Obito-san’s other eye! While he’d never had much to do with the older Uchiha, Sasuke’d heard a lot about him from his Aniki. Apparently he was off in Suna on some ANBU mission, although no one knew when he would be back. 

Shaking his head, Sasuke focused on what was happening in front of him. Kakashi-sensei addressed his team behind him, “Protect Tazuna and leave Zabuza to me.” Zabuza? Was that the enemy Shinobi’s name? Leaving his questions for later, Sasuke got up and did as he was told. Drawing out his kunai, he stood beside Naruto. Tch, he couldn’t really do anything in this fight, could he? The enemy Ninja was obviously strong, even Kakashi-sensei seemed to be serious about the oncoming fight.

With a sudden burst of speed, Zabuza landed on the small pond they’d been passing by. He raised his arms while his hands formed a seal. Sasuke felt Naruto tense up beside him, what was Zabuza planning? A whisper echoed across the lake, “Hidden Mist no Jutsu...” Immediately a burst of fog surrounded the area, obscuring everything around them. It was at that moment Sasuke noticed Sakura’s missing presence. Worry hit his gut, where was that girl?

Before he could shout out to Kakashi-sensei, a horrible laugh sounded from above him. Zabuza appeared, swinging his sword down in an almost lazy manner. Sasuke could do nothing, and only watched as the blade came his way. A loud crashed rang across the clearing as Kakashi-sensei materialized in front of him, blocking the gigantic sword with a small Kunai. The two Jonin stared each other down for a moment before a flash of red appeared behind Zabuza. 

Sakura struck out with her Senbon, striking the enemyNnin in the head. As her weapons hit, Zabuza’s face collapsed inwards before exploding with amazing force. Sasuke threw his hands up, expecting to feel chunks of body hit him. Instead, he felt cold water splash him. It was only a clone? 

He gasped as he saw the real Zabuza strike at Sakura from behind, instead hitting Kakashi-sensei as he threw himself in-between them. With an equal amount of force as Zabuza, water splashed the three genin. Naruto gasped as the liquid hit him. Kakashi-sensei was gone, Zabuza standing there shocked.

“Don’t move!” Kakashi-sensei ordered, holding a Kunai to Zabuza’s throat as he stood behind the taller Shinobi. He’d appeared out of nowhere, without the slightest hint of Chakra to give away his presence. Kakashi-sensei pressed the Kunai slightly into Zabuza’s neck. The enemy Jonin started to chuckle, a horrible grin stretching underneath the bandages covering his head. 

His laugh grew louder, “It’s over? You don’t get it. There’s no way you can defeat me with your-” He choked, a Kunai in his stomach. 

Sakura stood before him, a harsh light in her eyes, “Behind you Kakashi.”

Kakashi-sensei smiled, “Thank you Little Killer, but I thought I told you to stay back.” With a movement too quick for the eye, he’d twisted his torso and drove a Kunai into Zabuza’s chest. It would have been fatal, had the enemy Jonin not dodged. As it was, the Kunai was stuck near his left shoulder, rather than through the heart. 

With a leap, Zabuza landed before the trees, “Well, I guess I underestimated you brats.” He crouched, ignoring the bleeding wound on his chest. “I won’t make that same mistake aga-” He was cut off by two Senbon in his neck. 

Sasuke whipped his head around at the sound of a feminine voice, “He’s quite dead, isn’t he?” Standing on a tree, a young Ninja looked down at them all. A mask obscured their features. 

“He’s really dead.” Turning back to the fallen jonin, Sasuke saw Kakashi-sensei leaning over the man. “That mask, you’re a Hidden Mist Hunter-Nin.” The feminine ninja jumped down next to Zabuza with a simple “Yes.” Sasuke's eyes widened. Hunter-nin? Was this Zabuza such a threat then? 

The Hunter touched Zabuza lightly on the shoulder, “Thank you.”

“Wait!” Sakura ran up to the masked Shinobi, fatigue clear on her face, “You can’t-” With a gust of wind, the unknown ninja and Zabuza were gone. “No!” Sakura growled, frustration apparent. Sasuke was confused, why was she mad? Zabuza was dead and that kid would deal with the body. And everyone on their team was still alive, including the client. 

“Maa, Little Killer, why so angry?” Kakahsi-sensei lowered his headband to once again cover his sharingan. “Surely you should be happy such an evil man is gone?” His other eye stared at her, serious despite his words. 

Sakura stumbled a little, Sasuke frowned at her actions, “I..I’ve read a bit about Hunter Nins...” The lie was obvious to the Uchiha, “Why would he have taken away Zabuza? Aren’t they supposed to dissect the missing Nin right away?” Missing Nin? Sasuke felt somewhat out of the loop.

Kakashi-sensei’s eye hardened, understanding dawning on him. Sasuke saw him glance out of the corner of his eye to Naruto and himself. “Now, now, we can worry about all of that later. For now we should continue on to Tazuna’s house. Wouldn’t want to run into any more trouble on the way?” He was avoiding her questions. 

With an abrupt turn of his heel he faced his two male Genin, “Are either of you hurt?” Sasuke shook his head, seeing Naruto do the same, “Good, we can keep moving.” Ignoring Sakura, their Sensei continued walking down the path that lead to Tazuna’s village. 

.  
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Angry, yeah, that’s what he felt. Coupled with a heated emptiness that clutched at his stomach. Why had he done nothing during that fight? He’d beaten the crap out of the creepy Ninja on the road here, so what had rendered him so helpless in the last fight? Staring at Sakura’s door, Naruto could only continue berate himself. It was late at night, and the Tazuna house was preparing for sleep. Naruto, unable to rest, had found himself lurking outside of Sakura’s rooms, thinking about the earlier battle. Sakura-chan had been so brave going into the fight without a second thought...if only he could...

**If only you could what, brat? Cry some more?**

Naruto shook his head violently. That voice again. He’d heard it vaguely during his fight with the Chunin, and ever since it’d pop up to say a remark or two. Never anything helpful, just snarky words. Pulling at his black shirt, Naruto wondered if he was going crazy. It wouldn’t surprise him all that much, people already called him stupid for wanting to become Hokage. His hand curled into a fist. It’s not like they had any right to talk, his father had been the best Hokage ever! All Naruto wanted to do was follow in his footsteps, was that so ba- “Naruto, you should go and sleep. You’ll need energy when we train tomorrow.”

Turning around, Naruto’s blue gaze met with his Sensei’s. “..Yeah, I’m cominging.” Walking with Kakashi-sensei back to their shared room, Naruto was struck with a small spike of fear. He’d forgotten about Zabuza. 

After they’d gotten to Tazuna’s house, Kakashi-sensei’d told them that the Hunter Shinobi that had killed Zabuza hadn’t been a real one. Normal Hunter Nins would have destroyed the missing Shinobi’s body right then and there, leaving nothing to chance. The Hunter they’d seen was probably one of Zabuza’s accomplices. 

As he laid down in his bedroll, Naruto made a small promise to himself. Next time they fought Zabuza, he wouldn’t just stand on the sidelines. He would fight.  
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While his clone was went to bed, Kakashi stood above a sleeping Sakura. His gaze stared intently into the pink-haired girl’s face. There was nothing overtly unusual about it, albeit the unnatural hair color. No sign of Jutsu, curse, or anything. He lightly bit at his mask, an old habit of frustration. How could she be the woman who’d saved Obito? It just wasn’t possible. Of course, if you considered the impossible then....

Biting harder, he tried to get past his disbelief. If they were the same person, then why was she young again? Some sort of Space Reversal Jutsu? But no, the girl in front of him had always lived in Konoha, had always been the daughter of Kizashi and Mebuki, had always lived in the merchant part of town. The woman couldn’t have suddenly transformed into a young girl, or even baby, and taken on the life of Sakura Haruno. Despite the research he’d done into her life, there was no good explanation of who she was. Unless...unless he considered something incredibly impossible..something harder to believe than Space Reversal Jutsu...

“Time travel.” The words slipped past his lips, through his clenched teeth. 

An older Sakura coming into the past, saving Obito and who knows what else, and then reverting to her younger self. It sounded so stupid, so implausible. Heck, even if the time travel part wasn’t crazy, why would she now be twelve again? 

But there was too much evidence to consider. The high level fighting techniques that she’d shown during the bell test that reminded him all to well of Tsunade. The multiple occasions where she’d almost just called him “Kakashi”. While she’d always managed to add a “-sensei” onto the end of his name, it was obvious to Kakashi how forced they were. And only people familiar with him called him Kakashi. Hell, it had taken Guy years before he’d moved on from “Kakashi-san”, and they’d grown up together. And then there was the Hell-Viewing Jutsu. While he couldn’t be sure that Kakashi in it was older, the adult versions of Naruto and Sasuke were hard to ignore.

All of these things spoke to someone who had lived a life him, Team 7, and apparently Tsunade. Kakashi almost laughed. He must be going crazy, if he were seriously considering this, this idea of _time travel_. Against all of the logical parts of him, Kakashi crouched down, eyes boring holes into the sleeping girl’s face. It didn’t matter how stupid it sounded, he had to know. Maybe if he....

“Sakura Haruno, you’re needed at the front lines, your Hokage needs you.”  
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Sakura bolted awake, instinct kicking alive at the words she’d heard in her dream, “I’ll be right there. Tell Naruto to wait for me, and make sure the medical tents are set up correctly this time! I won’t have another disaster,” What now? Was it another wave of white Zetsu? Those monsters had been tearing into their forces like no other-

She met the gaze of Kakashi. Not just Kakashi.....Kakashi-sensei...

“...oh no....this isn’t good...” The words where a whisper out of her mouth, a tiny fear escaping her mind. 

She watched as Kakashi blinked. Opened his mouth under his mask, closed it, and blinked again. “You..” His word sounded strangled. “I thought I was insa...” He couldn’t even finish the word.

As she saw all of this, Sakura trembled. He knew. _He knew_. How could she have let his happen? This Kakashi was obviously Danzo’s man, what would he do with her now that he knew? Bracing herself, she realized that if it came down to a fight, she would have to flee. There was no way she was going to willingly let Danzo torture her for information regarding the future, no matter how unreliable her information now was. 

But before she could move, the girl found herself wrapped in a tight hug. A small noise of shock escaped her lips. “Thank you...thank you thank you thank you..” Kakashi was hugging her? But...he was....Danzo’s.... “You saved Obito....oh god, thank you..” Oh.  
After a moment, Kakashi pulled back. His arms fell to his side with a thump. For what it was worth, he look slightly embarrassed. 

Sakura’s mouth continued to gape, “But...you.....”

A small smile flashed under his mask, gone in a second. Kakashi seated himself more comfortably in front of her, crossing his legs on the wooden floor.

“I....you...” Was he not Danzo’s man then?

Clearing his throat Kakashi looked down at her, “We have a lot to talk about, ne, Little Blossom?”

Hope swelled in her chest as Sakura realized her Kakashi was still there.


	12. Training

Sitting across from Kakashi, Sakura fidgeted with the end of her futon. They were still in her room at Tazuna’s house, each unsure of what to say. After Kakashi had hugged her, Sakura had felt a wave of hope that her old friend was still inside of this harsh Kakashi. But she quickly doused that wish, not wanting to raise her expectations for nothing. Nails digging into the futon, Sakura stared uncertainly into Kakashi’s one eye. It was looking right back at her, full of emotion. Gathering her courage she asked him, “You remember me then?” Her voice shook despite her efforts to keep it steady. 

The older man took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it all out in a rush, “Yes. Of course I do, how could I not? You’re the one who saved my best friend after all.” She could see he was biting his mask, a habit that appeared whenever he was frustrated or nervous. Sakura wasn’t sure which one she wished he was. 

Covering her own insecurities about what was taking place, Sakura raised her eyebrow and said, “Best friend? Funny how I never see him around you.” And she hadn’t. Not by him, not in the Uchiha compound, not anywhere in the village, really. It had troubled her but she’d never given it too much thought, still trying to acclimate to her new life and regain her old strength. Now it seemed her question could be answered, “So where is Obito?”

“He’s been away on a seven year mission in the Sound village.” 

Sakura’s heart stopped for a moment. “Orochimaru...” She breathed out. In all honesty, Sakura had forgotten about the former Sanin. The appearance of Danzo as Hokage and Kakashi’s sudden change in attitude had taken up most of her thoughts. She knew he’d have to be dealt with soon, considering the Chunin exams were coming up. 

“You know of him?” Kakashi’s eye bore into her.

“Yes, of course, he’s the Kage of the Sound Village. Or, at least, he was....” This was it. She’d have to let go of some of the information from her past, but before that, “Is this area secure? What I have to tell you is highly confidential information.” Really, she should have checked right after she woke up, before they started to talk. Nodding his agreement, Kakashi disappeared. 

Moments later he was back. Sitting down, a little closer to her this time, he affirmed, “We’re alone. No traps or jutsu to hear us.” Sakura nodded, glad that her oversight hadn’t caused any real harm.

“Good. For now I’ll just tell you the basic information from my time regarding Orochimaru.” Sakura relaxed into a more comfortable position. “As I said before, he was Kage of the Sound Village. And a formidable one at that. The only difference I can tell between the two villages is that in my world, Sound was formed a little while before the upcoming Chunin exams, not seven years ago,” Sakura frowned. Her coming here couldn’t have done that, could it? Although, Danzo was now Hokage so it might be possible. Shaking her head, she returned to the conversation.

“During the Chunin exams, Sound attacked Konoha along with the Sand village, all lead by Orocimaru disguised as the Kazekage. Many Shinobi and civilians died, including the Sandaime. Luckily we managed to drive him away,” Kakashi made no remark, waiting for her to finish. She did so quickly, “Some years later Orochimaru came back in a new body, as he’s had to do to keep his youthful appearance for years now. I was able to eliminate him before he caused any damage.”

A silence followed her confession as Kakashi took it all in. Letting out a breath of air, he started to speak but was cut off abruptly as Sakura had a sudden, terrible realization, “Are you going to report this to Danzo?” He blinked.

How could she have been so stupid as to forget about that horrible man and his hold over Kakashi? Sure, having Kakashi act like her old one was wonderful, but she shouldn’t be so willing to give out infor- “Of course not.” Wait. What? “I’m going to report this to the Yondaime.” Huh? Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Sakura managed to make a strangled sound in response. 

Kakashi’s smile widened, “I presume you thought I was Danzo’s man?” Sakura nodded. “That’s good. If I can fool you I’m fairly certain no one else should question me.”

“...if you can fool me...?”

“Maa, I’m assuming we were close, since you always want to address me as just ‘Kakashi’.” She grimaced at his remark, had she been that obvious? Well, old habits do die hard. “Now, besides the hundreds of questions I still wish to ask you, do you have any for me?”

“Well, yes. A lot.” A small laugh escaped the older man. “But...to start with, why is Danzo Hokage in the first place?”

“Because the council elevated him to that position after the Yondaime was injured. Nobody said a word against it, although many are rethinking their decision now.” About to ask why she was cut off by his answer, “Everything’s become much more militaristic since he’s taken power. Almost like the land of Waves in that account, yet the change was gradual so it’s taken people a while to complain.” 

That made sense. If Danzo had made slow, subtle changes to the village, no one would really notice. At least, not until it was too late. Storing the new information in the back of her head, Sakura asked her other pressing question, “Is there a following under the Yondaime?” It was almost too much to hope for, but she was sure not everyone would be too happy with Danzo’s rule. 

Kakashi’s answer was brisk, “Slightly less than half of the shinobi forces, a third in ANBU, and almost all of the civilian population.” Sakura could only stare. That was more than she had hoped for. 

“..Who’s at the head of this?”

“Why the Uchiha, of course.”  
.  
.  
.

The Uchiha? But why would they oppose Danzo? Struggling to think of a reason, Sakura voiced her confusion, “Why woul-” She was cut off by a yawn. It had been a long day, with the added emotional roller coaster of the last twenty minutes. She was exhausted. 

Smiling under his mask, Kakashi reached out to tousle her hair affectionatly, “We’ll have to talk another time then. You’re obviously tired and we’re going to have to fit in as much training as we can before Zabuza comes back.” He stood up, “Besides, I still have questions for you, Little Blossom,” Kakashi absentmindedly rubbed his stomach, where Sakura knew one of his old scars lay. It was a quirk he’d picked up whenever he had a lot to think about. Sakura smiled a little, stifling a giggle. Kakashi had many small habits that she’d picked up on over the years with him. She was glad to see they hadn’t disappeared in this new time. “I’m especially concerned about our upcoming fight with Zabuza. We’ll have to discuss it further.”

Silently agreeing that Zabuza would have to be dealt with more efficiently this time around, Sakura slipped into the blanket on top of her futon, “Will you stop with that nickname? It’s worse than Killer Cherry.”

He laughed, “Now I’m going to use it just to spite you.”

Sakura sighed. Yup, he was the same old Kakashi, “Well then, I’m going to call you Neko-san,” Kakashi hated cats. She got no response for her comment.  
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The next morning, Sakura could tell immediately that the boys hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before. Both had dark circles under their eyes. Whether it was from the excitement of training or worry about their upcoming fight with Zabuza, Sakura couldn’t tell. Still, she hadn’t gotten much herself. Thoughts of her talk with Kakashi and the threat of a more established Sound village had kept her awake for most of the night. Getting up early to talk to Kakashi about Zabuza had almost been a relief.

At her entrance, Naruto shouted with joy, “Sakura-chan! You’re up! Come and sit next to me!” He moved aside to make room for her.

Obliging him, she lowered herself onto the purple cushion. Once seated she looked up to see Sasuke staring at her, “Something wrong?” At her question he scowled and looked down at his rice bowl. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, ignoring her question. His brush-off didn’t bother her though, knowing that that was just his way of saying hello. 

“Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei’s gonna teach us some cool Jutsu today! Isn’t that awesome? I can’t wait!” Wolfing down his own rice while he spoke, Sakura was bombarded with small flying rice specks. Instead of getting angry at this, it made her laugh. 

“Naruto, eat first. Talk after.” He smiled sheepishly at her small admonishment, though it was not unkind. 

While they’d been talking, Kakashi’d plopped himself across from her. Reaching across Sasuke, who was next to him, he grabbed the water jug to pour himself some. Once he’d taken a lightning fast sip (without showing his face), he addressed his team, “Listen up my precious students, I’ve got something to tell you.” Naruto squirmed in his seat while Sasuke tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement of the words. Looking at Sakura, Kakashi said, “I’m going to train you separately for a while, instead of together. This is to work on your personal strengths before the fight with Zabuza.”

Sasuke frowned, “How are you going to do that all at once? You can’t be in three places?” Naruto voiced his agreement while Sakura just sighed. Well, everyone deserved their moments of ignorance, didn’t they? 

Kakashi seemed to have the same opinion since he answered their question without mockery, “I’ll use clones, of course.” Seeing the comprehension dawn on their faces he continued, “As I was saying, I’ll train you all separately for a while. During this time, I’ll keep another clone with Tazuna at the bridge to alert us when Zabuza strikes. When he does we must all be ready, so keep your weapons on you at all times.” As they all agreed with him, the Jonin picked up his chopsticks. “Well then, time to eat.”

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Naruto sat in the small clearing waiting for Kakashi-sensei. So far the man was only late by twenty minutes. Idly tossing a Kuani up in the air, Naruto wondered how high he could throw it before being unable to catch it. About to test that theory he was stopped by the sudden appearance of his absent teacher.

Standing up quickly Naruto was about to shout ‘You’re late!’, but Kakashi-sensei interrupted him, “You’re able to preform the Shadow Clone Jutsu, correct?” 

“Of course! I am an awesome Ninja after all!” He threw the Kunai up again, catching it on his finger. He was secretly please, worried he’d miss and look a fool for it.

Kakashi-sensei smiled, “Well then, make ten.” Naruto scoffed, only ten? Well fine then. Putting the kunai away and his hands together in the seal, he gathered up his chakra. “Without seals.” Naruto froze. What?

Pointing an accusatory finger at Kakashi-sensei he shouted, “How am I supposed to do that!?” 

The man simply smiled serenely back at him, “Surely an awesome Ninja like you can figure that out?” 

The blonde growled but lowered his hands nonetheless. Focusing on his Chakra, he tried to push it throughout his body. The first thing to do was to get a reading on his body. Meandering his Chakra about, Naruto found that it was much harder to do without using his hands as a focus. Sweat formed on his head as he painstakingly gathered all of the information.

Once that was done, he tried to push it out of his body into ten separate areas to create the clones. After a few minutes of struggling, he was dismayed to find that he couldn’t. “Come on....” He shuffled his feat, trying to gently coax it out. That worked a little better, the chakra went out of him for a few seconds before leaping back in. “RAaah! Get out of me!” With a large burst of frustration the Chakra was forced out of him in an explosion of smoke.

Once the air cleared, Naruto looked around to see two exact copies of himself standing in on either side of him. Darn it, there were supposed to be ten. Cussing under his breathe, Naruto gathered up Chakra to try again.

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Sasuke was annoyed. Why was that man late when they were going to have to face an S rank Jonin in a few days? Did he have no idea of reality? Grumbling he leaned against a nearby tree. He was in the middle of the forest, having been told to wait there after breakfast. 

“Sasuke-kun, I’m so happy you waited.” Voice dripping with sarcasm, Kakashi appeared on a branch of the tree Sasuke was leaning on. Looking up, Sasuke replied with a scowl. “Well now, that’s not very nice.” Kakashi jumped down to land in front of the boy, hands in pockets, “Alright, are you ready to begin?”

“Hn.”

“Good. Hold out your hand.” Sasuke did as he was told, wondering what was in store for him. “Bring a small amour of chakra to that hand.”

Confused, Sasuke did as he was told. 

Kakashi grabbed his hand, pushing some of his own Chakra in to mix with Sasuke’s, “Now, pay close attention to what I do.”

Kakashi increase the speed of the Chakra flowing in their hands, letting a few loose ends spike out into the air. After a couple of seconds, small bits of lightning crackled in the air around the two hands. Increasing the speed even more made the sparks grew until it was as if Sasuke held a bolt of sizzling lighting in his hand. Holding the lighting for a few moments, Kakashi then slowed the Chakra down until all of the electricity disappeared. 

Sasuke stared at his hand, awe and excitement in his eyes. Kakashi took a step back, leaning on a nearby tree. His voice held amusement in it, “Now, I want you to slowly copy what I just did. To begin with, just try to create a few sparks. I’d rather you not blow your hand off accidentally.” 

Grinning, Sasuke did as he was told.

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Sakura smiled with surprise, Kakashi was actually here before her. Standing on the singular dock that adorned the small lake, he was contemplating the view in front of him. At her approach, he glanced back and turned around. “Hello Little Blossom, so good of you to join me.” Sarcastic as always.

“Hmmm, Neko-san, I’m surprised to see you here before me.” She stepped onto the dock, looking out across the water. It was a beautiful day out, only a few clouds in the sky. “Anyway, what are you going to teach me? I’m sure a great Ninja such as yourself must know all sorts of powerful Jutsu.” Two could play at the sarcasm game.

Chuckling a little, Kakashi stepped out onto the water and walked towards the middle of the lake. Sakura figured water-walking would be involved, since he’d told her to meet him at a lake. That and the fact that they’d talked about her abilities this morning in preparation for her training. Unzipping her jacket, Sakura let it fall onto the dock, having something dry and warm to put on after her training session would be nice. Underneath her jacket she wore a simple mesh shirt with a dark band to hid her almost non-existent breasts. 

Sakura closed her eyes and dragged her Chakra down to her feet. Once there, she let it stabilize before setting a foot onto the water. Acclimating to the motion of the waves, she waited until she could let go of the Chakra in that foot so it could support her without her constant awareness. When that was done she did the same for the other foot. 

Kakashi watched her do this, still surprised at her fast pace of learning even though he knew she must have done this before. What kind of future had made her come back to relive this all? Surely going through life once was tiring enough...

Once both of her feet were secure, Sakura walked towards Kakashi. “Well, what kind of training do you have in store for little old me?” She was honestly curious, not sure how this Kakashi’s training style differed from her old one’s. 

“We’re going to fight.” Sakura blinked, that’s it? Her Kakashi did the same thing. Huh. Putting that mildly interesting bit of information aside, Sakura settled into a battle-ready position. Well, it would be nice to have someone to spar with instead of fighting imaginary foes. “Are you ready?” She nodded. 

At once he charged at her, lifting his fist to strike her. Dodging his attack, Sakura kicked out a foot in an attempt to hit him. The older man easily grabbed it and, using her own momentum, swung her around his hip to fall in the water. Still not entirely used to using Chakra to support herself in a fight (she hadn’t practiced it much on her own, to her embarrassment) Sakura fell under. Before she could pull herself out, a hand grabbed her and yanked her up. 

Far from being grateful, Sakura tightened her stomach and angled her body into the flow of the punch as Kakashi took the opportunity to hit her. Grunting, she flew backwards with the force of it, but managed to keep herself on her feet and above water. 

Kakashi grinned, “Not as easy when there’s no ground to split open, is it?” Sakura smirked in response. She’d figured that’s why he wanted to fight on water. After the bell test, he hadn’t asked her about her super strength. This morning, however, she’d let him know she’d trained under Tsunade. Both Taijutsu and Chakra control took a certain amount of concentration, and now that part of that attention focused on keeping herself above water, fighting was much harder. 

Determined, Sakura raised her fists and attacked him once more.


	13. Mist

The sky was a little fuzzy, so were the trees...and the grass, it was so soft. Hmmmm....he could take a nap right now.....just for a minute. He had to get back to training soon, he’d only managed to make six clones... 

Naruto’s eyes closed.

Kakashi watched the boy struggle with consciousness, a small prickle of pride growing in him. Usually only skilled Chunin could accomplish what Naruto had in a few hours. Despite never having a Shinobi properly teach him before now, the young Uzumaki was strong. 

Crouching down, the Kakashi picked up the sleeping boy. Turning towards the direction of Tazuna’s house, he started the long walk back.

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Sasuke was smiling. He couldn’t help it, not really. After hours of training, he’d finally been able to generate a small amount of electricity in his hand and hold it there for a few moments. While it wasn’t much, Kakashi-sensei had told him he was progressing much faster than many other Ninja would have. Even Itachi would have had trouble with this. And as much as he loved his older brother, Sasuke was happy to be told so. 

“Ready to go?” Kakashi stood up from the tree he had been relaxing against. This brat was good. Hell, he was practically a prodigy. He’d let the boy try his hand at manipulating chakra into the chidori, not expecting him to actually do it so quickly. Only a few people had been able to do it at such a speed in their lifetime. Heh, combined with Naruto, his team was looking at becoming the next generation of Sannin. Giving a short laugh under his breath, Kakashi berated himself for thinking such a silly thought. While the kids were good, they had a long way to go before they could even approach Sannin level. 

Sasuke, looking up from his palm, smiled at his teacher, “Yeah, let’s go.”

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Sakura was dead tired. Hours of fighting would do that to a person. How much longer did Kakashi expect her to- she ducked to dodge his kick. “Come on Little Killer, we’re not done yet.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, coming at her with a kunai in hand. 

“Yeah, yeah, Neko-chan, whatever you say,” She mumbled it, knowing he would hear her. When she saw him draw his weapon, she pulled out her own kunai. The two crashed, a loud metallic sound following closely. “I’ve still got a lot more in me.”

She was lying. Already her feet were beginning to sink beneath the water. If they continued much longer she’d fall under. Thinking on it, as she threw a punch at him, she couldn’t remember fighting this much one-on-one since she’d fought Sasori. Even during the war with Pein she’d mainly stuck to healing the waves of injured shinobi that arrived at the medical tents. 

Dropping down into a crouch, Sakura kicked out her foot in an attempt to trip up her sensei. He didn’t fall for it. Taking to opportunity, he grabbed her leg, pulling her towards him. Sakura saw her chance. 

Pushing the remains of her chakra into her fist, she waited until she was right up against him to hit. Kakashi, too confident that he’d won, took the punch. It sent him flying into the middle of the lake. Surprised that it worked, Sakura also fell into the water.

After a moment of struggling, the girl was able to swim to the surface. She had no more chakra left, so water walking would be impossible. “Hey, Neko-chan. Can you give me a lift to the shore? My chakra’s drained.”

He started walking towards her, having gotten out of the water a lot quicker than her, “Maa, Little Killer. I’m not sure I can. That punch really hurt an old man like me. I might not even have the strength to get myself back, let alone someone as heavy as you,” Always with the sarcasm.

“If you do, I’ll be your weight for your pushups.” It had been a tradition of sorts for Sakura to sit on Kakashi’s back while he did his pushups, he’d always been finicky about wearing lead weights. Something about being too much like Gai. The tradition hadn’t died even when Sakura’d made Jonin. “Pleeeeeeaaassee.”

Glaring down at her, he considered the proposition for a moment. After a few seconds, he reached down and pulled her up. Swinging the girl around so she was positioned on his back, he growled, “You’d better mean it. Even if it’s four in the morning and I want to work out, you have to do it.” 

Sakura smiled, glad she could have a little more of her Kakashi back, “I promise.”

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Dead bodies littered the ground in front of them, scattered all across the bridge. Glancing around her, Sakura watched as mist began a slow creep towards them. Sasuke bumped up against her, their backs together, “Kakashi-sensei, is this..?” He voiced the thought quietly. 

“Yes. The Hidden Mist Jutsu.” Kakashi pulled out a scroll. With a quick look Sakura knew it to be the one that held his Nin dogs. He was getting it out early this time. Good. “Naruto, Sasuke, protect Tazuna. Sakura, when he appears you know what to do.”  
They’d talked the night before on how they would handle Zabuza. 

A voice drifted to them, chilling in its hate, “Long time no see, Kakashi.” Sasuke was shaking. “ I see you still have your brats.” Sakura could feel him trembling. Zabuza’s voice cut through the fog, “He’s shaking. Poor kid.” The barest movement of air preceded Zabuza’s arrival. 

He had them surrounded with his clones, all clutching their swords. Sasuke stilled. With an air of complete confidence he admitted, “I’m shaking from excitement.” The next second all of the clones disappeared, only water in their place. Sakura smiled, impressed at Sasuke’s efficiency. 

“Hmm, he saw through my clones. That brat has grown.” Whipping her head around, Sakura was greeted with the image of Zabuza and Haku standing on the other side of the bridge. “Looks like you have a rival, eh, Haku?” The younger mist nin was silent. 

Sasuke took a step forward, his eagerness clear on his face, “I’ll fight him.”  
Naruto stepped up with him, face set in determination, “I’ll help Sasuke. Don’t think you’re taking all of the glory for yourself.” Sakura sighed. She should have realized they wouldn’t be satisfied with only protecting their client. They always did have to be in the middle of action. 

She moved closer to Kakashi as the two boys advanced on Haku, “You can let a clone protect Tazuna, right? I know you’ve seen Naruto’s shadow clones with your Sharingan.” 

“Someone’s observant.” Sakura growled. He wouldn’t stop with the sarcasm. Kakashi saw her frustration, “But yes. I can protect him.” He made the signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a copy of him appearing next to Tazuna.

Zabuza chuckled, “Making last minute plans Hatake? I thought you were better than that.” He drew out his sword, gesturing at Haku, “Go now. You deal with the two brats while I get the copy nin.” Haku nodded and rushed at the aforementioned two. 

Sakura couldn’t focus on her team mates battle, as Zabuza came at them as soon as Haku left his side. She let Kakashi jump in front of her to take the full brunt of his assault. Reaching up, the Jonin exposed his left eye. Zabuza grimaced, “Sharingan again? I was under the impression you knew one thousand Jutsu. Apparently the real Hatake falls short-” He was cut off by an explosion of smoke.

Kakashi’s eight Nin dogs were on Zabuza, digging their teeth into whatever flesh they could find. Without waiting for his opponent to move, Kakashi quickly flashed the hands seals necessary for the Chidori. The deafening sound of chirping preluded the lightning’s arrival. “You really are disgusting. Fighting for nothing but your own sake, throwing your companion at the enemy as if he were a simple tool. I despise people like you.” Kakashi snapped at Zabuza, his anger overcoming him. 

Out of the corner of her eye Sakura could see Haku’s mirror Jutsu take form. She cursed under her breath. Her comrades were in for a fight. She hoped Kakashi’d trained them enough. But she couldn’t deal with that now. Shaking her head slightly, Sakura focused back on her own fight. 

Zabuza was smiling, blood smeared across his uneven teeth, “I don’t give a damn about your morals, Copy Nin, I fight for my own ideals.” Kakashi sneered at this and, raising his hand, he struck. 

At the sound of impact, Sakura pooled Chakra into her own fist and quietly scanned the area. The mist was thickening around them. Her sight would be useless here so she closed her eyes and focused solely on hearing. Pushing back the sounds of Naruto and Sasuke fighting, she was able to pick up the slight splash of feet moving towards Kakashi. Making quick calculations, she approximated where he would appear. Opening her eyes she was greeted with the sight of her sensei covered in water, courtesy of Zabuza’s water clone, his dogs latched onto air.

Wasting no time in a warning, she drove her fist towards the space near Kakashi’s head. Her sensei froze, not wanting to interfere with her. And, as she had predicted, Zabuza flashed into being a second later. The Mist Nin was focused solely on Kakashi, having no thought for the girl Genin. That was his mistake.

This sound of impact, unlike Kakashi’s, was real flesh hitting flesh. Zabuza’s face caved in a little, jaw breaking under the force of Sakura’s fist. In the split second they were touching, his eyes swiveled to face hers, utter surprise showed clearly in them. The next second he was gone, flying across the battlefield. 

He crashed into Haku’s mirrors, shattering through them and beyond. Naruto and Sasuke stood in the center of the broken glass, frozen in shock. Naruto was surrounded by eight clones of himself while Sasuke held a small Chidori, as if defending himself. Both turned to face their team mate and Sensei, confusion spread across their faces. 

Haku immediately abandoned his fight to rush towards his master’s side. The remaining panels of glass fell down in his wake. Kakashi stepped up beside Sakura, rubbing his right arm, “Well now, that was a good start, wouldn’t you say?”


End file.
